


The Fisherman’s Bride (漁師の花嫁)

by harunohayate



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Agent Ninomiya, Alternate Universe, Domestic Jun, Fisherman Ohno, Journalist Sakurai Sho, M/M, Veterinarian Dr. Aiba Masaki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 67,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26983540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harunohayate/pseuds/harunohayate
Summary: Agent Ninomiya places Jun into witness protection under the care of a fisherman named Ohno after Jun witnesses a major crime and now has people after him. Refusing cosmetic surgery to alter his distinctive face, Jun is forced to dress and live as a woman, hiding out in the countryside with Ohno as his wife until justice can be served.
Relationships: Aiba Masaki/Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsumoto Jun/Ohno Satoshi
Comments: 36
Kudos: 36





	1. S.S.A. Ninomiya Kazunari (S.S.A. 二宮和也)

**Author's Note:**

> In this storyline, Ohno is 30, Nino is 31, Jun is 27. I made Nino older since he has a role that requires some life experience and so as the oldest, he has more authority to tell them off and reason to be annoyed with their antics.

Ohno Satoshi was a simple fisherman who lived in a small village on the coast of Japan. Originally from Tokyo, he tried to go to school, work in a company, and live the life of every Tokyo urban young person. However he quit soon after, terminated his lease and moved to the countryside. He never looked back and thought that he was more or less content with his life.

It had only been a few years since he moved to the village when something unexpected came into his life.

One rainy day in April, Ohno heard a knock on his door. He has just stopped to take a break from his art to make himself some lunch so he answered the door. Outside was a young policeman under an umbrella.

“Ohno Satoshi?” the young man asked.

“Yes?” Ohno acknowledged slowly to the unfamiliar face.

The man at the door pulled out his credentials from the inside of his coat pocket and handed them to Ohno.

“Imperial Protective Services. Supervisory Special Agent Ninomiya Kazunari. May I come in?”

Ohno looked down at the credentials at a unit of law enforcement he had never heard of before. He handed the credentials to his visitor and took a step back, pulling the door open.

“Please,” he gestured, inviting him in.

The agent stepped in and placed his umbrella in the rack at the door. He removed his shoes and stepped up where Ohno held his hands out.

“Umm, I can hang your coat here,” Ohno offered awkwardly.

“Thanks,” he smiled gratefully as Ohno hung the coat on a hanger and placed the hanger on a hook near the entrance.

“You can sit in the living room. Would you like some coffee?”

“Coffee would be great.”

Ohno nodded and scurried off to the kitchen to start a pot. While he was in the kitchen the agent looked around curiously at the messy living room scattered with a hodgepodge of fishing books, fishing gear, and pieces of finished and unfinished art. There was a large television that seemed out of place, as if its modern finishes clashed with the simple artisan life he saw in all other aspects of the home.

“Sorry for the wait,” Ohno apologized, bringing two mugs of coffee on a tray with some condiments to his guest. “I’m sorry I don’t have any food to offer you. I lost track of time and haven’t been to the market this week.”

“Not at all,” waved Ninomiya dismissively, inhaling the smell of his favorite stimulant.

“So umm, what brings you here?” Ohno asked nervously.

“Once again, I would like to reintroduce myself. I am Supervisory Special Agent Ninomiya Kazunari and I work for Imperial Protective Services,” he bowed and handed Ohno his business card.

“Ohno Satoshi, fisherman,” bowed Ohno, accepting the card and placing it in front of him on the coffee table. “I’ve never heard of Imperial Protective Services before.”

“It’s not public knowledge. We are a division of law enforcement that is charged with the safety of persons of interest to the government.”

Seeing the blank look on Ohno’s face, Ninomiya continued.

“One of our jobs is to arrange for protective services of people who may have witnessed a crime and whose lives may be in danger without protective custody.”

When Ohno nodded slowly, the agent continued.

“As a new resident, you probably were not aware of this, but this sleepy town is one of the hosts for people in protective custody. While it has been some time since we last placed someone in this town, we are in immediate need to place a number of witnesses into protective services very quickly.”

“I’m sorry, why are you dressed like a regular policeman?” asked Ohno abruptly.

Ninomiya was taken aback at the sudden question. In all his years in his line of work, no one quite reacted like the man sitting in front of him.

“Excuse me?”

“If you’re part of the government, then why are you dressed like those guys on bicycles?” Ohno asked, his head titled in confusion.

Ninomiya let out a snorted chuckle before he could stop himself. “10 years in this line of work and you’re the first person to ever ask me about my fashion choices!”

“You seem young…” Ohno pointed out.

“I’m actually 31—”

“Well, it’s weird. I thought you government guys are supposed to be in your own uniform or something,” Ohno glossed over the flex of age-granted authority as the man before him was a year his senior.

“Besides,” Ninomiya said grandly with a sniff of irritation. “If it’s supposed to be something as secret as identity concealment, do you honestly think we would want to draw attention to ourselves and this town by dressing like a group of secret agents?”

Ohno pondered this for a moment. “I guess not,” he agreed.

“We dress like this because we don’t want people to be suspicious. I came in a regular car so people would not think I was here on official police business. But I wanted you to know that I was part of law enforcement so this is the actual uniform of the town police.”

“Yes, I can see that,” nodded Ohno. “It even shows the rank in the right areas and it has all of the details down to the town crest on the pocket there. I knew that it was real when I saw you at the door because we just changed the colors of the crest 6 months ago. Your pant leg has the new stripe combination of goldenrod and white. It was canary yellow layered on navy before. The police only changed over 2 months ago, so the fact that you have a recent uniform means that you were probably at least affiliated with the police in some way.”

Ninomiya was impressed by the sleepy-eyed fisherman. He assumed the reason he had been granted entrance was because Ohno was responding to his authority as a supervisory special agent but it turned out that Ohno knew the uniform was real from the onset and not a costume.

“Ohno-san. We need you to host a witness who needs to be placed into protective services as soon as possible.”

“Tell me about them,” Ohno took a sip of his coffee and picked up his sketchbook from the coffee table.

Ninomiya pulled a file from his shoulder bag and began to read.

“Matsumoto Jun. 27 years old. Witnessed a mogul of a certain industry paying off some prominent politicians while he just so happened to be on the veranda of a restaurant having a smoke one unlucky evening. He did not realize what he was witnessing and when his cellphone suddenly rang, they saw that he had witnessed the payoff and immediately started to pursue him. He ran to the main road, took a taxi to the police station and has been in protective custody since. We of course need him to testify at the trial but with all the prominent people involved, it might be awhile before we can bring everyone to justice. In the meantime, we would like to place him in this town.”

“What was he doing before he was taken in by you guys?” Ohno began to make some sweeping strokes across the textured paper.

“It says that he was working in a restaurant, but he had just been hired a week prior to the incident,” Ninomiya ran his finger across the smooth copier paper page.

“What was he doing before that?” Ohno stopped to sharpen his pencil, a sound that grated against Ninomiya’s ears uncomfortably.

“It says he was a Freeter working odd jobs. Based on employment records, he worked in a bookstore and supermarket for awhile, changed employment to an office of a bar or nightclub, did some work at a convenience store and then did some delivery work for a Kuroneko Yamato.”

Ohno frowned. This was becoming tedious and he was already losing interest.

“What does he look like?” he said, blurring some lines of his drawing with his pinky and blowing some eraser shavings away. Ohno had already conjured up this Matsumoto Jun in his head of a scruffy college student trying to figure out what to do with his life, not unlike how he had been as a young adult. He was not looking forward to sharing his space with a young adult with a Peter Pan complex who had no direction in life.

“This was taken a few days before he started his new job at the restaurant,” Nino said, unclipping a photo from his file and handing it to Ohno. “We pulled it from one of his friend’s social medical accounts.”

Ohno looked up and took the photo from the agent. Immediately he inhaled in surprise as the photo betrayed his expectations. The man in the photo was wearing a black wide-brimmed hat at an angle that exposed his ears and showed his long chestnut bangs framing his face with a bold eyebrow peeking out from a part in his bangs.

“He’s pouting in this picture but he’s quite the looker, right?” laughed Ninomiya, a ray of softness penetrating his usual serious demeanor.

“I... I wasn’t expecting him to look like this...” stammered Ohno.

“Yeah, when the guys at the police station first told me about it, they were all calling him the angelic model that fell from heaven. But then they discovered that he had quite the venomous mouth and was soon bossing them around like some sort of queen bee.”

“I can’t imagine someone like that fitting in here,” Ohno said quietly, handing Ninomiya the photo back. “This is a quiet village with a ton of old people who live simple lives. Why don’t you just place him in somewhere like Osaka or Fukuoka?”

“Unfortunately, it is not that easy since we are still untangling the web of corruption, the only safe places for someone like him are remote areas like here. I also did a thorough investigation and have found that your precise line of work and your location makes it the perfect place to keep him.”

“Why don’t you just let him live on his own here?” Ohno said with a tinge of annoyance that this was beginning to sound more and more inconvenient.

“That’s not how the program works,” Ninomiya exhaled as he thought about asking the fisherman if he could smoke. “If we were uprooting a whole family then it might be easier to have them move to the town as such, but as someone who recently moved here, how do you think things would go for him in this town, a single person with no real job or profession to bring suddenly appearing in town like this with a face like his for no reason?”

“Very suspicious?” Ohno offered.

“Exactly,” Ninomiya sighed in relief. “I need you to be his host and sponsor here. We will pay you a monthly stipend for your service of 150,000 yen.”

“Oh, I get paid for this?” Ohno immediately perked up.

“I mean, it’s not much, but it should cover at least food, utilities, entertainment and incidentals.” Ninomiya pointed to a paragraph on a piece of paper that spelled out the compensation terms. “It will come as a direct deposit from me registered to the identity of Suzuki Taizo. It’s the name we use to pay our hosts and sponsors.”

“Sure,” Ohno gave the thumbs up and continued to sketch, not bothering to read.

“Huh?”

“I said I’ll do it,” Ohno repeated in full disinterest and now wanting Ninomiya to leave him alone on his day off.

“Really?” Ninomiya clearly confused by the turn of events.

“Yeah, I thought there wouldn’t be any benefit for me to doing this, but even if it’s only a few thousand yen left for me to spend on some art supplies or some new fishing gear, that’s fine. When is he coming?”

“When can you take him?” Ninomiya pulled out his phone to check his calendar.

“Anytime,” shrugged Ohno. “Aren’t you in a hurry to place him? Bring him tomorrow if you want. Unless he’s outside in your vehicle waiting?”

Ninomiya bristled but recovered quickly.

“How about tomorrow at 10 am then?” the agent offered.

“Sounds good,” Ohno grunted absently.

“Well, I better be going then. Take care of yourself, Ohno-san. Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll bring the legal documents tomorrow along with your new roommate. I look forward to working with you.”

“Likewise,” Ohno gave a dismissive wave.

“I’ll see myself out,” bowed the agent, grabbing his coat, and left Ohno to his art.

+

Ninomiya opened the car door to an irritable passenger in his back seat laying in the backseat staring at the ceiling of the car.

“He’s agreed to take you in,” Ninomiya stated as he started the car. “Stay down while I take you back to my place.”

“What did he say?” the heavy-browed witness asked curiously. 

“Nothing much. He wanted to know what you were doing before and what you looked like. I told him he would get a stipend and then he said okay.”

Ninomiya turned onto the main road and drove towards the mountains to the cabin he stayed at when he was assigned to the area. It was a few kilometers outside of town and had good access to the neighboring towns which also hosted from time to time.

“What’s he like?” the passenger asked finally.

“Ohno-san?” Ninomiya clarified as he lit a cigarette at the stoplight.

“Yeah.”

“He’s a quiet, creative sort. A bit eccentric. Cluttered house. Seems nice enough,” shrugged Ninomiya, turning into the narrow road that lead to his cabin. “He seems like he will give you your space and it won’t be too hard to live with.”

“I see…”

The air was thick with tension and the smoke from Ninomiya’s tobacco so he cracked the window on the driver’s side open.

“Are you sure you don’t want to do the surgery?” Ninomiya prompted.

“Yes, I’m sure. No cosmetic surgery. I am going back to my life once this is all over,” the young man replied adamantly.

“Okay then,” Ninomiya rolled his eyes.

“Glad we understand each other.”

+

The next morning could not come fast enough and the cabin echoed as Ninomiya yelled on the phone just moments before the two were scheduled to meet Ohno.

_“But boss!”_ he protested. _“He is not going to go for that! This is not what we agreed—...yes, yes! I know that! But—“_

Ninomiya turned to his charge and mouthed a directive to his charge.

_Go wait in the car._

Sensing the tension in the agent’s mood, the younger brown-haired man grabbed his duffel bag and scurried to the car.

Ninomiya arrived in his normal suit with a dark tie rubbing one temple and flopping into the driver’s seat with a huff. They drove in silence, arriving at Ohno’s home exactly at 9:55 am. The agent checked his face in the mirror and then unzipped his shoulder bag to check that he had everything for the drop off. At 9:59, he opened the car door and they both rang the doorbell at 10:00.

Ohno answered the door and looked sleepy, but gestured for them to come in. He said nothing about his new roommate, who had sunglasses and a white face mask over his nose and mouth and the same wide-brimmed hat from the photo angled down to shade his face. The clothes were similar to what he had seen in the picture.

“I’ll get the coffee and meet you in the living room,” he said rather unsociably.

When Ohno returned with the coffee, his two guests were whispering and having an argument on the couch.

“Is everything okay?” Ohno asked, taking the chair perpendicular to the sofa but closest to the agent.

Ninomiya sighed. “I just got off the phone with my boss, the Director, and there’s been some changes to the arrangement.”

Ohno’s new roommate had not removed any of the coverings on his face and looked like he was seething mad under based on his aura.

“Oh, what sort of changes?” Ohno asked, motioning for his guests to take a cup of coffee.

“Here’s the legal document that explains your duties and responsibilities,” began the agent, placing a set of documents in front of each of the parties.

“I don’t like to read; give me the abridged version,” Ohno replied, taking a cookie that he had purchased after the agent had left in preparation for their face-to-face meeting.

The masked man snorted under his coverings.

“Be nice,” Ninomiya elbowed him sharply. The other man looked away and crossed one leg over the other. 

“In exchange for the monthly stipend,” he continued. “You agree to provide food, shelter, clothing, and any other basic necessities to the witness while they are under your care. At no time will you reveal his identity to anyone outside of our circle. If you believe you have been compromised or notice anything suspicious or anything that can endanger the witness or you, you must report it to me. If anything material changes about your situation, report it to me. You have my card and my direct line. Is that simple enough for you?”

“Perfect. I agree. Where do I sign?” Ohno said, munching and spilling crumbs all over the table, while he fumbled for a pen to sign.

“Hold up,” Ninomiya stopped him. “There’s been an additional condition.”

Ohno put the papers down and looked back at the agent to give him his attention.

“Normally when we have a case as complex as this one, we would ask that the witness consider some cosmetic surgery, just given the duration that they may need to stay under their new identity. I have recommended to Matsumoto-san here that he opt for the cosmetic surgery, but he has refused. With his features, my boss believes that even changing his hair color and clothes, that he would be too recognizable and I am also inclined to agree. This is why I am pushing for the cosmetic surgery.”

“No cosmetic surgery!” the nasal voice insisted angrily. 

“Don’t be difficult, you little shit!” Ninomiya seemed to be losing his cool and patience as he stared at the taller witness also rising in emotion as they both stood up to yell at each other.

“I’m not changing my fucking face, Agent!”

“It’s just your face! You will be recognized and you will continue to be in danger!” Ninomiya yelled in exasperation.

“It’s not your face so you don’t care, you insensitive prick! I am not getting the surgery! Figure something else out!” bellowed the other man.

Ohno just sat as he watched the two continue to scream at each other, until finally Ninomiya had enough.

“Take everything off!” the agent lashed out, starting by yanking the other man’s hat off and pointing his finger at the younger man.

“Fine!” The younger man stared daggers back, but removed his face mask and sunglasses to reveal what Ohno saw was the most beautiful face he had ever seen in his life on a man. The man’s bold eyebrows bordered large chocolate eyes with the lushest longest lashes, high cheekbones and a strong jawline emphasized by the anger on his face, a large mouth in a sneer with what looked to be the most lovely supple lips. He was most definitely male, but he had striking features that any woman would be envious of.

“Whoa….you’re even more good-looking in person,” Ohno commented without realizing he had spoken aloud, but immediately diffusing the situation between the two strong personalities with his compliment.

When they stopped, Ohno felt his cheeks flush as he realized he had spoken aloud.

“Whoops,” he apologized awkwardly. “I mean…Agent Ninomiya showed me your photo yesterday and we talked about why we just couldn’t have you live on your own here. It would be very suspicious for someone as good-looking as you to suddenly move here without a reason to this small town. You would really attract a lot of attention, maybe not in a good way.”

Feeling equally embarrassed for losing themselves in front of Ohno, they both took a seat.

“Agent, what do you propose we do?” Ohno asked in a completely neutral tone.

“My boss has recommended that Matsumoto-san dress as a woman and pretend to either be your girlfriend or wife during his time here,” sighed Ninomiya, holding up his hand to Jun to silence him as he explained for Ohno’s benefit. “Since surgery is not an option, we have to change his appearance somehow. The problem is that he is so tall and his features are so striking that it’s going to be quite difficult to hide him unless we go drastic. This will have to be the ultimate commitment as he will have to live here as a woman at all times, even while he is inside as people can pass by and hear and you never know who will stop by. Ohno-san, you already know this, but unlike in Tokyo where everyone minds their own business, in a small town, people often stop by, loiter around to shoot the breeze, and meddle in each others’ lives, so Matsumoto-san will need to be in his new identity at all times.”

Ohno stood up and walked over to his beautiful new roommate. He craned his neck as he observed all of his features, noting the positions of his moles and every delicate point and curve. He noted that the younger man’s hair had grown out somewhat. And then his eyes zoomed in on his neck. Ninomiya said nothing and the other man appeared to be shifting uncomfortably from the sudden attention.

“If we cover his Adam’s apple at all times with a scarf or something, I think it should be okay. I’m sure he could handle it,” Ohno nodded, returning to his chair. “Matsumoto-san, would you like to be my wife or girlfriend?”

The heavy-browed man was about to protest, but he saw that his sponsor meant no harm or derision. He knew in his mind that by refusing the cosmetic surgery that he would have to change some aspect about his face in order to remain safe and less recognizable.

“Well, if we knew it would be short like say a few months, I’d say girlfriend,” Ninomiya interjected. “But if you were the girlfriend, it would be weird for you to always he at home, right?”

There was a pause as the three of them considered the social norm that wives would stay at home, but normally if a couple was together and not married the woman would still be working in some capacity to support herself.

“However, if you’re the wife, then being at home all day long wouldn’t be so odd. You can move about the town as such and people understand your role and status. We know it’s going to be a while, to me, a wife seems more believable,” the agent finished. With a pause, he added in a moment of empathy, “But…it’s up to you…"

“I guess I’m the wife then,” the witness sighed sullenly, but immediately remembered his place and manners, so he looked up with determination and stared at Ohno. “Ohno-san, thank you for agreeing to be my host and sponsor. I realize this is probably not what you were hoping for in life, but from today until I can be safely released from protective custody, I will do my best to be your roommate and act as your wife. Please call me Jun from today.”

Jun bowed deeply with his hands on his thighs and then looked to the left to Ninomiya.

“Please tell me I can at least keep my name,” Jun begged tiredly.

“I will change the character from _uruoi_ (潤) on your papers when I submit them because I don’t want you to pop up with your original name…”

“How about Junka?” interrupted Ohno. “We can write it with _aya_ (絢) and _natsu_ (夏). Oh wait, when are you born?”

Ohno fumbled under the coffee table for a calligraphy brush pen and his sketch pad, so he could write it out.

“August 30th,” replied Jun and Ninomiya at the same time.

“Perfect. You’re a summer baby,” Ohno said shaking the pen and tapping it on the edge of the table twice. “You can be Ohno Junka (大野 絢夏 ＝おおの・じゅんか) from today. It’s an unusual, or maybe non-standard is the word, reading for “ _aya_ ”, so if it pops up on a search, they will think to read it as “ _Ayaka_ ” not _Junka_. Junka is also less frequent than Junko, so even if people are looking thinking that you just added ‘ _ko_ ’ to your name, they won’t find you so easily.”

Both Ninomiya and Jun watched as the fisherman with the most artistically steady hand wrote out Jun’s new name. In that moment, Jun felt something like a twitch with a pang hit his chest, something he had never felt before. Ohno turned the paper around to face them and placed the cap over the brush pen.

“Written like this,” Ohno said, pointing to the characters.

“Are you okay with me registering this name?” Ninomiya asked Jun, who had picked up the paper with his new name and what felt symbolized his new identity.

“Yes,” Jun nodded in subtle admiration, staring at the characters that looked so perfect that they could be a font.

“Ohno-san, you’re pretty good at this,” praised Ninomiya, but Ohno only deflected the compliment.

“My name is Ohno Junka,” practiced Jun, holding the paper. He looked up at Ohno and set the paper on his lap. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Ohno Satoshi. You can call me ‘Ohno’ or ‘Satoshi’,” he bowed awkwardly. “Whatever.”

“Very well, Ohno-san,” bowed Jun.

“No, you’re not calling him ‘Ohno-san’,” scolded Ninomiya, rolling his eyes. “That’s weird. We’re not in the Showa era anymore and he’s not that much older than you, so call him ‘Satoshi’ like every other modern young person.”

“Satoshi-san?” Jun offered shyly.

“Yes, Junka?” Ohno practiced.

Ninomiya looked like he would vomit any second.

“Alright. So now that is squared away,” Ninomiya interrupted. “Congratulations, you’re now married!”

The agent took his stamp and immediately began approving forms that from the side glances of the two.

“We have two things to work on,” Ninomiya took an official tone. “First, we need you to get your story straight so when people ask about you, you have the same narrative to tell as a couple. Then, we need to get some makeup and women’s clothing for you.”

“Should we make up something?” asked Ohno.

“Keep it as close to the truth as you can,” offered the agent. “The more things you lie about, the more confusing things can get, so just keep things as truthful as you can. In order to explain the sudden appearance of your wife, we are going to say that the two of you came to meet by arranged marriage exactly one year ago today. Junka was living in Tokyo finishing a work contract for her work with the government which ended recently, she has closed out her life and moved here to be with her husband Satoshi. Keep things general until you can establish a timeline and routine here as a couple.”

“What should I do about my clothes?” Jun asked.

“I’ve arranged for a clothing shop in the neighboring town to bring you some clothes during a house call in about an hour. I work with a friend his name is Yamashita and he will help you with whatever clothes and makeup you need on this first round until you have the time to go and choose more outfits for yourself.”

“You knew he was going to agree to dress as a woman?” Ohno asked, surprising Jun and Ninomiya.

“Of course,” sighed Ninomiya. “I’ve been doing this for years and while the two of you are definitely one of the more memorable handoffs I’ve had in my career, what needs to get done to keep everyone safe hasn’t changed.”

At that moment, both Ohno and Jun looked at the agent with admiration, finally understanding how someone that still looked to be quite young had gotten so far.

“I’ll come by later to discuss check-ins and to see how you are all settling in. Junka-san?” Ninomiya called.

A pause filled the air as everyone waited.

“Oh, that’s me!” Jun blinked in recognition, slapping his forehead. “Sorry! I forgot!”

“You’ll get it,” Ninomiya smiled softly as this aspect of the bold-browed man was actually quite endearing when it was not being overshadowed by his sassy attitude. “You can’t touch anything from your previous life and you especially can’t contact anyone from your previous life. Do you understand me? I’m not relocating you again. This is the last place that can probably protect you from the people who are after you.”

“I know. I got it,” Jun nodded meekly.

“I’ll do what I can to try to transfer your assets back to you, but at this point, it’s not looking good since people are watching for you in Tokyo and it’s really risky for us to attempt to touch anything from your previous life since it can be tracked.”

“I understand,” Jun replied.

“Good. Well then, good luck to you both. I’ll be in touch soon. You both know how to get a hold of me if you need to. Keep a low profile and try to get along.” The agent gathered his papers and left a folder on the table with Jun’s case file for them. Picking up his bag, he moved to walk towards the _genkan._ Jun stood up and followed him, watching the agent sling his bag over his shoulder and quickly put his shoes on. Ohno walked up and stood next to Jun.

“Thank you, Agent Ninomiya!” Jun bowed a full 90 degrees.

“See ya around,” Ninomiya waved coolly, shutting the door behind him.


	2. New Clothes, New Beginning (新しい服、新しい始まり)

When the agent drove off, Jun looked at Ohno and Ohno stared back at Jun. The air between them was awkward and Ohno had no idea what to do next.

“Ummm…so what next?” Ohno asked the younger.

“I guess we wait for this Yamashita-san?” Jun offered.

“How about a tour of the house in the meantime?” Ohno pointed to the rest of the house.

“Sounds good.”

Ohno led them back into the living room, which opened up to the kitchen. “Okay, so here is the kitchen on the right. I’m sorry when I moved here a few years ago, I just figured that I’d keep the original furnishings and whatever else the previous owners had.”

Jun looked around and saw fairly spacious kitchen area with a large cooking area and ample counter space.

“No dining table?” Jun asked.

“Ah…” Ohno scratched the back of his head. “Well, it’s just been me and I don’t eat very regularly, so I’ve never needed one. I normally just eat at the counter, or in front of the television…sometimes I eat out…But we can get one now that you’re here. I guess we should also go grocery shopping too, huh? I only bought us cookies and cakes, but didn’t think to buy us anything else…”

Ohno led Jun down the hallway.

“So the guest bathroom is here,” he pointed to the first room on the right. “Follow me, here…”

They walked down the corridor which split to the right.

“Here’s the master bedroom. It has a bathroom and large bathing area over there,” Ohno gestured vaguely.

Jun looked around and saw a decent sized closet, a bunch of magazines and art projects all over the floor, and a small bed in the middle. Ohno looked around and seemed to be thinking when something hit him.

“Stupid Satoshi!” he exclaimed, startling his new roommate. “I’m so sorry, Jun. I wasn’t thinking about making sure you had space and could be comfortable. We can go get a bigger bed later this afternoon and I’ll clean up the room so you have more space.”

Ohno seemed to be making some sort of mental list as he wandered back into the corridor and led Jun to the last two rooms of the house.

“A large family used to live here, but it’s just me and it was selling for a good price. In this room, I keep all my fishing stuff.”

Ohno revealed the one room that was surprisingly organized that had all of his work things carefully compartmentalized into bins and drawers. There were many things on hooks on the walls or hanging from the ceiling and Jun noticed a white bin in the far corner. There was no carpet in this room, just hard industrial flooring that could be easily hosed off given the purpose of the room.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing to it.

“That’s a freezer,” laughed Ohno. “I mostly use it to hold the fish and seafood I catch and bring home. I hope you don’t mind seafood and I hope Agent Ninomiya told you that I was a fisherman.”

“I don’t mind. I love seafood,” Jun gave a small smile, reassuring him.

“Good,” breathed Ohno with a sigh of relief. “Seafood, I have an abundance of. Just…not much of anything else…”

Before Jun could respond, Ohno led him to the final room.

“This is my art studio,” he said shyly. “I like to do my art when I’m not fishing.”

The final room was like the living room but without furniture. There were shelves of projects at different stages, countless sketchbooks, paints and supplies, and what impressed Jun the most was the diversity in the room. The sleepy-eyed man that he had been introduced to him just moments before seemed like an entirely different person from the person who worked in this room.

“Ohno-san, this is…” breathed Jun.

“Satoshi,” corrected Ohno gently.

“Satoshi-san…”

Jun blinked and turned to give Ohno the once over. He simply could not believe the person that was sponsoring him. The man seemed like a paradox all over and trying to understand his new living conditions made him woozy. Jun took a misstep and nearly hit the doorframe, but Ohno caught him in the nick of time with a surprising amount of strength for someone much smaller than Jun. The sudden skin contact sent a jolt through Jun’s body as Ohno’s hands while they were quite rough, were much warmer than Jun expected.

“Careful,” Ohno said, helping Jun regain his balance, his large eyes staring back into Jun’s searching for a micro-expression of injury or discomfort. Jun felt his ears and cheeks redden in what could only be embarrassment and tried to look away.

“Sorry,” Jun mumbled, stumbling into the hallway.

“Jun! Jun, are you alright?” Ohno chased after him.

And as he was about to catch up, the doorbell rang.

“Hello! Ohno-san!” called the voice. “It’s Yamashita of YP Fashions.”

“Coming,” Ohno acknowledged, running to the door.

The man that stood at the door had sleek chestnut hair and impeccable skin. He had dark eyes and was perfectly coordinated. He had a dolly with some boxes next to him at the door.

“Please, come in,” Ohno said, helping him into the house.

“Excuse me for intruding,” the guest smiled, bringing his dolly into the _genkan_ along with a large suitcase. “You must be Ohno-san and Matsumoto-san. I am Yamashita Tomohisa and I’m the owner of YP Fashions. I’ve worked with Agent Ninomiya for many years for placements in this region. He has told me about your unusual circumstances and so I’ve brought some things for you to choose from. Oh, and here’s my card.”

The shop owner handed each of them a business card and bowed. “May I set up for our appointment?” he asked.

Ohno and Jun nodded. The man quickly unpacked all of his items, which included several collapsable racks and a bunch of hangers, and put on his work apron that hung around his waist and glasses.

“Agent Ninomiya already gave me your measurements, Matsumoto-san—”

Jun bit his lip.

“Um, you can call me Junka or Jun,” he said, blushing slightly. “My new name is Ohno Junka.”

“Of course, Junka-san,” Yamashita smiled genuinely, taking out a pen from his pocket. “So let’s start with some outfits for you. I am thinking right now we should choose maybe enough for 4 to 5 days and then when you figure out what you like and need, you can go to the store and pick out more of your own. How does that sound?”

“Okay,” Jun nodded.

“Ohno-san,” Yamashita addressed the fisherman.

“Yes!” Ohno jumped at the mention of his name, making the other two snicker.

“Agent Ninomiya gave me an allowance to replace Junka-san’s clothing of 80,000 yen since pretty much the only clothes he has are the outfit he is wearing now, one more outfit, and a set of pajamas.”

“Is that enough to give Jun a start for some new clothes?” Ohno asked, implying that he felt that there was no way that 80,000 yen could be enough for a new wardrobe. “Don’t women have…uh…more things to wear?”

The shopkeeper laughed heartily.

“Whatever Jun needs, just charge it to me,” Ohno said.

Jun looked at Ohno, but instead of meeting eyes, Ohno was looking at what Yamashita was unpacking.

“Satoshi-san, I couldn’t—” protested Jun.

“It’s fine, Jun,” smiled Ohno. “You’re my new wife and you need new clothes. We can’t risk you blowing your cover because you still looked like a man. It’s fine I’m telling you. Get what you want.”

Ohno winked at him, causing Jun to blush furiously and turn away in embarrassment.

“Junka-san. I think we are ready,” Yamashita said, showing three full racks of clothes and straightening out the boxes that clearly held other items.

“Um, so what’s first?” Jun asked almost too embarrassed to proceed.

“Well, I think we should start with the underwear,” Yamashita said thoughtfully. “Since it’s your first time wearing women’s clothing, we need to see how everything will fall on your frame.”

Jun paled slightly.

“Don’t worry, Jun,” Ohno reassured him. “Look the curtains are all drawn and there’s no one here but the three of us.”

“Can you take off your clothes?” Yamashita asked.

Jun slowly started to peel off the different layers of clothing. He removed his jacket, then his shirt, revealing his smooth creamy white skin that was just barely toned.

“Do you want me to leave?” Ohno asked suddenly when Jun unbuckled his pants and was about to strip down to his underwear. “I can wait in the other room until you’re done.”

“Up to you,” Jun said, but looked up with pleading eyes that seemed to be, ‘ _Don’t leave me here with this guy_ ’.

“Okay, I’ll stay,” Ohno smiled, leaning on the wall.

“Can I just wear briefs on the bottom?” Jun asked, pointing to his current underwear.

“Like regular men’s underwear?” clarified Yamashita.

“Yeah. I mean it’s kind of similar right?”

“Well the cut is a little different for women and depending on what you’re wearing, it might give you odd lines, so I’m going to suggest that we go with women’s underwear. Let’s not worry so much about the shape that it will produce in your crotch area, but how it feels for you.”

The shopkeeper took out several pairs of panties, all a shade of beige but in different cuts and fabrics. Jun looked utterly mortified at having to make a choice when Ohno wandered over to take a look.

“These don’t look very sexy,” he commented with a frown. “Don’t you have anything sexier?”

“Of course! I take great pride in having the latest styles.” Yamashita suddenly looked very excited and began to pull out a wide variety of panties from a box based on Jun’s size and laid them all out on the white sheet that he had brought to cover the floor. “These ones here on the left side have matching bras, where as these on the right are—”

“Matching set, definitely,” Ohno nodded. “Jun, do you have a preference?”

Jun seemed to be still in shock, so Ohno made the decision for him.

“Let’s get one of each style so Jun can try them and see how he feels,” Ohno decided. “Like these ones are higher on the waist, but these other ones look pretty nice too. I don’t think he’s in his right frame of mind to choose, so let’s go with these 5 and then 2 of those plain ones over there.”

“Perfect. You have excellent taste. Now what would you like to do about the bra size?” Yamashita asked, taking a measuring tape to Jun’s chest and writing down some numbers. “Junka-san, do you have a preference?”

“Jun,” Ohno tapped him, bringing him back to reality. “He’s is talking to you. I already picked out the bottoms. You can try 5 different kinds so you can figure out what works for you.”

“Huh?” Jun said.

“You need to wear a bra everyday, so do you want big boobs or small ones?” Ohno asked crassly, pointing to the silicon inserts. “What do you think, _tenchou_?”

The shopkeeper looked at Jun’s chest and the ratio of his body.

“Hmm, the balance will be a little difficult since Junka-san is so broad at the shoulder and the chest part is really wide. To make it look believable, if it’s too flat it might look a little weird, so maybe a B or C would be natural. D and beyond would probably look killer though.”

Yamashita rummaged through some of the boxes and pulled out one of the bras and handed it to Jun. “I’m sure someone as handsome as you knows what to do,” joked Yamashita.

“Taking them off not putting them back on,” snapped Jun a little more forceful and aggressively than he meant to.

Ohno and Yamashita just laughed.

“Here, stick your arms out,” chuckled Yamashita. “Okay, so you’re just going to fasten it it the back if you’re dexterous enough, or you can fasten it in the front and then spin it around and pull the straps up.”

The shop owner fastened Jun up and then proceeded to add the padding inserts for a B-cup.

“What do you think?”

“Maybe he should put something on,” suggested Ohno, picking out a simple white blouse from the rack. “Here, Jun.”

Jun obliged and put the shirt on.

“How does it look?” he asked apprehensively.

“Not bad,” Ohno nodded. “Put the C-cup in.”

Jun lifted up the front and once Yamashita stepped back, they looked at Jun.

“Definitely the C,” they nodded in unison.

“Do you want to see the D?” Yamashita asked Ohno.

“Nah, this looks good,” Ohno said, smiling in admiration.

“Alright C it is,” the stylish owner noted in his notepad that he produced from his apron pocket. “Ohno-san, shall we just do the matching sets so they match the underwear?”

“I think so,” nodded Ohno.

“Perfect,” noted Yamashita.

“Is anyone going to ask me?” Jun asked, annoyed that the conversation that affected him the most was being made by someone other than him.

“I’m sorry, did you want different bras from your panties?” Ohno asked concerned. “I just assumed that being a Virgo, you would want the underwear to match. Why don’t you take a look at the ones I chose for you and see if you want something different?”

Jun sourly walked over in his blouse and manly underwear to the area where the shop owner had laid out the underwear that Ohno had chosen. In addition to the flesh colored ones, Ohno had picked out one black, one white, one light blue, one nude, and one pink set. There were accents like little frills and bows, but were generally quite subtle. From the angle at which he had been standing, he thought Ohno might have picked up something more sexy or erotic, but was relieved to see that it was simple and much in line with what he might have chosen for himself given the circumstances.

“This is fine,” he conceded.

“Alright, so let’s put together some outfits, Junka-san,” Yamashita directed. “Right now given the season, I think you will need one warm outfit for colder, rainier days, two outfits for the upcoming warm spring to summer transitional weather, a house outfit, and maybe something nice to go out. Oh, and some pajamas, which are on the rack over there. Do you need help?”

Jun walked over to the rack and immediately began to separate the clothes.

“Satoshi-san,” he said, engrossed in his sorting.

“Yes?” Ohno said a little more attentively than he meant to, earning a chuckle from the shop owner.

“Do you have a portable mirror that you could bring here?” Jun asked, holding a pair of pants up to his waist.

“Umm, yeah. I have one in the art studio. Let me grab it,” he replied walking away.

Yamashita walked over to stand next to Jun.

“I’m eliminating the colors, patterns, and styles I don’t like off the bat right away,” Jun explained. “I think I want a skirt, a pair of jeans, maybe some long pants in white or gray, and maybe a pair of shorts or a shorter skirt.”

“Can I help you pull anything off the rack?” Yamashita asked.

“Yes, I think I like these jeans, those two skirts and maybe these bottoms…” Jun handed a bunch of hangers to him. “And let’s do these tops here…and I like this short A-line dress but I’m not crazy about the burgundy color. I think it’s too dark.”

“You have a pretty good eye,” commented the shop owner. “Here let me get those for you.”

Yamashita helped Jun move the clothes around so only the outfits and pieces that Jun liked were on one rack for him to try on. Jun wasted no time trying on the bottoms quickly in succession. He was less concerned with how it looked and more about how it fit. When he was satisfied with the fits, Ohno returned just as Jun was trying on the burgundy dress.

“Wow,” breathed Ohno, placing the large mirror against the wall closest to Jun. “You look smashing.”

“This color is too dark,” complained Jun, blushing hotly.

“It looks really good on you,” Ohno nodded oblivious to how Jun’s face still very much looked masculine.

“I do carry it in baby pink as well,” Yamashita replied adjusting the bow in the back and the pleats. He took out his phone and showed Jun the color.

“Yes! This is a lovely color,” Jun looked at the dress and was able to see that it was rather pricey—35,000 yen and decided that it was not worth it. “But on second thought, I think I’d rather just have another blouse.”

“Are you sure? I’m sure the baby pink would look lovely on you,” Yamashita commented.

“Yes, I’m sure. Could you unzip me, Satoshi-san?” Jun asked turning around quickly.

Ohno was happy to oblige and he watched as Jun spent another 20 minutes trying on different outfits before settling on one pair of jeans, a pair of gray and white cotton pants in the same style, a black knee length A-line skirt, a high waisted tan skirt, a black and white striped t-shirt, a light blue long sleeve knitted top, a dark purple fluffy top with long sleeves and a scoop neck, and two very plain quarter sleeved blouses in the same style, one in light yellow, and the other in white. When he was done, he walked over to Ohno.

“Okay, I think I’m going to get these,” he said, pointing to the rack.

“Is that it?” Ohno asked, looking at the very plain wardrobe that Jun had chosen for himself.

“Yeah. This is plenty to get me started,” Jun shrugged.

Ohno found it hard to believe that someone as good-looking as Jun had such a plain repertoire before he had to go into protective services. He looked to Yamashita, who was standing in the background, and all he shop owner could do was shrug in frustration.

“How about a jacket or cardigan for you, Jun?” Ohno said, beckoning to Yamashita, who handed him his personal choice. “See? This looks really nice? You know it gets chilly on some nights and you might need something to cover up.

“Um, okay,” Jun seemed disinterested, but agreed.

“Why don’t you go pick out some scarves and a couple of accessories?” Ohno suggested gently. “You’ll need to cover your neck and if you insist on this set of clothes, then please go get yourself a nice bracelet or necklace or something.”

Jun nodded and Yamashita showed him where he had set up the scarves and jewelry. In a few minutes Jun had chosen two nice cotton scarves for himself and a simple silver bracelet that had a single purple rhinestone dangling from it. 

“Those look very nice,” praised Ohno as Yamashita added it to Jun’s pile of clothes. “Are we missing anything?”

“Shoes,” nodded Yamashita. “Since that’s one thing that I don’t really specialize in, I brought our most popular flats that I think would compliment most of Junka-san’s outfits. I think you should check out the shoe store next to the post office since they have a pretty good selection and the owner is a personal friend of mine. He is able to order shoes in larger sizes if needed. Junka-san, would you like white, black, pink, or blue?”

“Um maybe white?” Jun replied.

“Junka-san, do you want me to show you how to do your makeup as well?” Yamashita asked, helping him with the shoes. “I brought some high coverage makeup, and some skin care products to get you started.”

“Yes, please,” Jun nodded.

Just as Yamashita was getting the makeup ready, Ohno received a phone call.

“Oh, it’s Agent Ninomiya,” Ohno said looking at the number. “Jun, you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah…I mean yes,” Jun said, correcting his rougher male speech into more feminine speech.

Ohno was gone for about 20 minutes and by the time he returned, he saw Jun facing away and wearing the white quarter sleeved top and jeans.

“Ohno-san, welcome back,” smiled Yamashita. “Are you ready to meet your wife?”

“Heck yeah!” he beamed excitedly.

Jun stood up and turned around to face him. Ohno could see that he now had a full face, his eyebrows had been thinned and softened with a brown pencil. He was wearing some eyeliner and had some light mascara on. Yamashita had added some light blush to his cheeks and some highlighter. The moles were barely visible and the one under his lower lip had been completely concealed. His pouty lips had been finished with a subtle light rose lip tint.

“You look like a doll,” breathed Ohno, walking over to brush Jun’s bangs away to better see his full face.

Jun felt his heart beat faster as Ohno seemed to study his face and body, for the first time feeling such strange things in response to a man who looked as plain and simple as Ohno Satoshi.

“Yamashita,” Ohno grinned, turning back to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper in question looked back at Ohno without a word and Ohno gave him a thumbs up.

“Bravo. Jun looks so beautiful,” Ohno gushed, his eyes sparking as he grabbed Jun’s hand to bring him over to Yamashita. “You almost made him look too beautiful. My neighbors might start wondering how the hell I landed a wife who is a 10 when I’m a 2.” Ohno laughed at his own joke and held out his hand to shake the shopkeeper’s hand.

“Well, I’m glad you like it. It’s easy to enhance natural beauty like Junka-san’s. Ohno-san, you are such a funny guy. Junka-san is so lucky to have such a kind sponsor and host,” Yamashita winked at Jun. Ohno did not notice this as he had gone off to the kitchen and had returned with an envelope.

“Thank you so much for coming to day,” he thanked Yamashita, handing him the amount due for the visit. “We really appreciate you helping Jun get the clothes and makeup he will need for his new life.”

“It is my pleasure. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you need more clothes. I’m happy to do another house call. If you clear it with Agent Ninomiya, you could probably also come to my main store and browse as well. We’re in the next town over in the Aeon Mall.”

“I know you have to break down and pack up your stuff, so I’m going to take Jun down to the supermarket down the road so we can buy some food. We should be back in about 10-15 minutes,” Ohno said, taking Jun by the arm and ushering him towards the door.

“Satoshi-san, are you sure it’s okay?” protested Jun.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Ohno assured Jun. “The supermarket is only a few minutes away and we’re just going to get something for lunch. I’m sure if this guy is a personal friend of Agent Ninomiya that we can trust him. Also there’s nothing of value to steal in my house. Come on, let’s get some fresh air and you can go on your first errand. Yamashita-san, see you later!”

“ _Itterasshai_ ,” smiled Yamashita, folding up the first rack of clothes.


	3. You Can Cook!? (料理できんの⁉︎)

Ohno and Jun walked out of the house and into the street. It was the first time that Jun had really taken a look at the surroundings of his new home.

“The supermarket is only a few blocks down, so it’s really convenient. Just a straight shot, no way to get lost,” Ohno pointed down the street.

There was no one on the street at this time and being a short walk, they arrived in no time to the large supermarket that began what looked like a bunch of other shops and restaurants. As soon as Jun walked in, he felt at peace. Inside that supermarket was much like what he felt in Tokyo, lots of items, bright fluorescent lights, noises everywhere. Perhaps it was the time of day, but when he and Ohno had been walking outside, there had not been a single soul they had passed. There were a few customers inside, but the market seemed to be rather empty.

“What would you like for lunch?” Ohno asked. “There’s some hot food over there or I can try to whip up something for us. I’m not all that great at cooking, but I can make us some curry or _ankake_ fried rice or something.”

“Curry for lunch?” giggled Jun quietly in his first attempt at a more feminine pitch and style of speaking, his genuine smile warming Ohno.

“Haha, I guess it’s weird for us to start cooking that right now, huh?” he agreed. “How about this frozen fried rice and gyoza here?”

“Satoshi-san, do you only eat junk food?”

“Can you tell I’m just a bachelor?” chuckled Ohno.

“How about I cook us something?” Jun offered, biting on his lower lip.

“Oh! Can you cook?” Ohno asked excitedly, probably the second time that Jun had seen the man who always seemed to be in energy-conservation mode.

“A bit. I’ve lived on my own for awhile and I would cook for myself a lot.”

“Then yes! Please cook us lunch,” Ohno nodded. “Whatever you need go grab it and I’ll pay for it.”

“Okay. Do you have something you want to eat in particular?”

“Nah, surprise me,” Ohno said. “I’ll be waiting for you at the registers.”

A few minutes later, Jun met Ohno at the registers with a basket full of vegetables, some condiments, some bread, and some ground meat, and a bag of pasta.

“Oh, pasta for lunch?” Ohno asked with a twinkle in his eye.

“I thought it’s something quick and easy. Is that okay with you?” Jun brushed his hair out of his face self-consciously.

“Of course. After you, my love,” Ohno said, helping Jun put the items onto the conveyor belt.

They paid for their items, headed home down the quiet stretch back to Ohno’s house and found Yamashita just about done stacking the boxes onto his dolly at the _genkan_.

“Yamashita-san,” Jun said excitedly. “Would you like to join us for lunch?”

“Oh, Junka-san, welcome back,” he waved. “Looks like you had a nice shopping trip with your hubby.”

Jun smiled uncomfortably. “I bought some ingredients to make lunch and we’d love for you to join us,” Jun offered.

“Thank you for the kind offer, but I’m actually on my way to my next house call,” bowed Yamashita apologetically. “That Agent Ninomiya can be such a slave driver sometimes. I’ll take a rain check on that lunch.”

“That’s too bad,” Ohno said, setting the groceries at the step leading into the house and helping the shop owner with his things to the van. “Jun, why don’t you get started on lunch?”

“Sure,” Jun nodded.

A few minutes later, Ohno saw Jun with one of Ohno’s dirty aprons covering his waist as he was chopping up the vegetables on the counter.

“Did you find everything okay?” Ohno called, approaching the kitchen area.

“Yes, I think so,” Jun replied in his feminine voice. “Lunch should be done in maybe 20-30 minutes. I’ll call you when it’s done if you want to go work on your art or take a break.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be in the bedroom,” Ohno acknowledged.

Realizing he now needed to make some space for Jun’s clothes and things, Ohno began to straighten up the bedroom, starting by carrying anything that had to do with his fishing work and hobby to the fishing room and anything to do with his art to the studio. He was surprised when he realized that this actually freed up quite a bit of floor space and bedroom real estate.

Throwing all of his dirty clothes and linens into the laundry basket, he then focused on the closet space which was also cluttered with hobby junk and clothes he never wore. He reasoned the clothes he could look through later, but he would move his hobby junk out at least to make some room for Jun’s clothes. Since Jun hardly had any clothes, Ohno moving the boxes and clearing out a drawer seemed to be enough for a temporary solution to his problem of integrating his new roommate into his life. He was just about to look at the situation with the bed, when Jun came to call him.

“Satoshi-san, lunch is—” Jun stopped in the doorframe. “Wow, you already cleaned up your bedroom?”

“Yeah, I realized we need to go buy a few things like a new bed, some sheets, and towels and stuff so maybe we can go after lunch?”

“I’d like that,” Jun said. “Shall we have come lunch?”

“Yes! I’m starving,” Ohno said, following Jun to the kitchen and washing his hands in the guest bathroom on the way.

Jun set the coffee table in the living room with full plates of pasta and meatballs, a small salad, two slices of garlic toast each, and cups of water for each of them.

“Whoa, Jun. Did you make all of this?” Ohno asked in surprise, taking a seat on the couch.

“It’s not much, but I hope it’s to your liking,” Jun replied sitting down with his legs spread, but then immediately closing them to resist the urge to sit like a man like Ohno.

Ohno took took the first bite of his meatball, which exploded like a juicy ball of flavor to combine with the subtle sweet and sour of the tomato-based sauce. His eyes widened and he nearly choked on his food.

“Holy shit, this is _really_ good,” he exclaimed to Jun’s relief and began to shove the pasta into his mouth as well. “Oh god, Jun…”

Ohno was moaning somewhat erotically from eating, much to Jun’s amusement as he slowly tried to eat his food as neatly as he could. What took Jun almost 30 minutes to prepare was gone in 5 minutes and Ohno looked like the happiest man lying on the couch, looking very sleepy.

“Jun, wake me up in…” he sighed and was snoring softly.

Jun could not believe his eyes. The man who had taken him in, who had been all too happy with the arrangement of taking on a fake wife, the man who did not seem to take life all too seriously but was still kind-hearted to someone he just met, the man whose life had been turned upside down with his arrival, had just passed out on the couch like a cat after eating too much food too quickly. Sleeping, Jun could see that the man’s face was angelic and almost baby-like, though the weathering from working in the sun had given him some early damage to his skin. Finishing his own lunch, he decided to wander around the house to gather some intel about the man he was now officially wed to before the man came to.

+

Ohno awoke to the sound of the washing machine beeping from the hallway. He sat up and looked for the clock and saw that it was nearly 4 in the afternoon. The lunch dishes had been put away and someone had covered him with a blanket that was most definitely not his. His house smelled fresh, like someone had cleaned it recently. He wandered towards the kitchen and saw that it had been totally wiped down and looked markedly more inviting with some produce in bowls on the counter and much of the trash that had been littering parts of his apartment completely removed. The _genkan_ was cleaner than when he bought the place and when he went to the bedroom, he found that the bed had been stripped and all of his towels and dirty laundry were now gone.

The way that the house had been built versus the way that Ohno had initially set it up to suit his single life was not very well thought out. Ohno repurposed many of the rooms and spaces to suit his own needs contrary to their original design. The master bedroom that Ohno usually slept in when he was not sleeping on the floor of his studio or the couch led to the backyard. As the house was old and designed in the traditional Japanese style, the master bedroom’s sliding door led to an area of flooring that jutted out as a seating area to the yard behind the house. There he found Jun sitting just staring out to the koi pond in the backyard watching the laundry flap back and forth on the laundry pole with the rest of Ohno’s laundry with the light spring breeze. 

It was a warm day and Jun probably had not meant to stay very long outside, so he had left the sliding door open. Ohno quietly walked out and sat next to Jun, who turned to him when he noticed the quiet presence disturb the air beside him.

“Hi, Satoshi-san,” he greeted. “Did you have a pleasant nap?”

“You cleaned and did my laundry,” he commented quietly.

“I’m sorry, I should have asked you for permission,” apologized Jun. “I didn’t touch your art or your fishing stuff—”

“It’s fine,” Ohno said, placing his hand over Jun’s. “Don’t worry about it. I’m grateful. Thank you for making lunch and cleaning. Lunch was really good.”

They sat in silence listening to the sound of water cascading into the fish pond and the flapping of fabric being gently tousled by the wind.

“I’m a hopeless kind of guy,” Ohno said, breaking the silence. “Before you showed up this morning, I barely took care of myself. I kind of just ate whenever I felt really hungry. I went to work whenever they needed me and did my art when they didn’t. I don’t really see my family too often since we had a falling out a few years back resulting in me moving here. It’s really just been me for most of my adult life. I live for my hobbies and freedom and that has always been enough for me. For the first time in my life today, I realized how much I appreciated having someone else here at my side, even if they were just here to pretend to be my wife.”

“Satoshi-san…”

“I guess what I’m trying to say, Jun…” Ohno began, tugging at his shirt pensively. “Is that…you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to. I enjoy your company and you have my word that I will never do anything to jeopardize your safety. You did something kind like cleaning up, but you were respectful of my things and space and I can appreciate that. You’re a great cook and even though I just met you, I can see that you’re a kind and sensitive person underneath it all. I wasn’t sure that we were going to get along, but I do like you and I’m glad Agent Ninomiya brought you here.”

Ohno’s words were so simple, yet Jun felt that his words reverberated so powerfully within him. While he had been cleaning, he came across the receipt for the clothes and even with the 80,000 yen offset from Agent Ninomiya, Ohno had still spent 70,000 out of pocket on his clothing without so much of a complaint. Ohno made Jun feel weird inside, like his nerves were firing too rapidly and giving him a tingling sensation all over his body. He also made Jun’s face hot when he stared too much at the younger man or even brushed a finger against Jun’s hand unintentionally.

“Satoshi-san, I don’t mind,” Jun began. “That is, I don’t mind cooking and cleaning and doing the housework. I like to cook and well, cleaning is sort of in my nature. I like when things are clean and orderly and it would be my pleasure to do those things around the house to keep busy.”

“Really?!” Ohno exclaimed, grabbing Jun hands.

“Sure,” smiled Jun.

“Thanks,” Ohno stared into Jun’s eyes earnestly. “Whatever you need, Jun, let me know and it’s yours.”

“Okay,” Jun nodded, his eyelashes fluttering, still aware that Ohno was touching his hands. It felt intimate to Jun even if the other man did not seem to be giving off any sort of signals that it was intended to be anything more than platonic.

“Shall we go buy some furniture, then?” Ohno interrupted the moment. “So I’ve made a mental list. I think we need a new bed, a dining table, new sheets, a new _futon_ , and towels—”

“We don’t need new towels. I washed your towels and blankets and found a bunch in a closet that looked like they hadn’t been used. We can use those…I mean…” stopped Jun. “Unless you want new towels. I didn’t think we needed to incur the extra expense because you’ve got perfectly good towels and as long as I do the laundry regularly, we will always have some fresh towels for the both of us.”

“Jun,” Ohno beamed. “You are nothing short of amazing. Let’s go to the furniture store. Come on.”

Ohno reached his hand out to help Jun up.

“Satoshi-san, give me 10 minutes,” Jun said standing up along with him. “I need to hang the last load of laundry.”

“Okay. I’ll call the taxi then. It’s late, so we can just take a taxi there and take the train back.”

“You don’t have a car?” Jun asked and then immediately regretted how spoiled and rude he sounded. “I’m sorry! That was rude to ask—”

“Haha, I can’t even drive!” Ohno laughed merrily. “The only license I have is to drive the boat. I walk or take the train mostly. Sometimes the bus and if I’m in a hurry I just call a taxi. I’ve never really seen the need to drive. Can you drive, Jun?”

“I mean, well, yes…” Jun admitted. “But my license isn’t good here, right? It’s not under my new identity.”

“Let’s ask Agent Ninomiya if he can get you a license and maybe you can rent a car whenever you need to,” shrugged Ohno. “No harm in asking and it would probably be more convenient for you—”

“I don’t need to drive,” Jun cut in quickly. “I want to fit in here, Satoshi-san. I’m your wife here. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Ohno asked. “It’s okay. I’m a fisherman and I’m okay with living like this, but you don’t have to—”

“I want to,” Jun confirmed with more conviction.

“Alright then,” Ohno said, taking out his phone. “I’’ll go call us the taxi and I’ll see you in a bit?”

Jun nodded.

+

Jun and Ohno went to the furniture store and while it was nothing like what Tokyo offered, they were able to pick out a larger bed, a small dining table to sit 4 people, and some new bedding. Ohno arranged for it to be delivered the next morning. They ate dinner at a soba restaurant and headed home on the train before walking the last 10 minutes together from the station to the house in content silence.

“ _Tadaima_ ,” Jun said, stepping into the house.

“Do you always greet the empty house?” Ohno smiled at how cute Jun was being.

“Yes,” Jun blushed in embarrassment, taking off the flats and straightening his and Ohno’s shoes before entering the house.

“So cute,” chuckled Ohno to himself down the hall. “I’m going to take a bath.”

“ _Itterasshai_ ,” Jun replied, carrying the package that Ohno had given him to the kitchen and carefully unwrapping it. Inside was a lavender apron with two tiny sunflower buttons near the straps. Jun tried it on and it was the perfect length. Smiling to himself, he took it off and hung it on the hook near the refrigerator before walking outside to bring in the laundry.

Jun had finished folding the clothes and making Ohno’s bed when Ohno emerged from the bath with a towel around his trim waist and his hair dripping. He startled Jun who was not expecting to see Ohno half naked, but Jun could see that his host was very fit under the loose fitting clothing he normally wore.

“Go take a bath, Jun,” Ohno said, pointing to the bathroom. “The water is really nice. You’ll feel super good. This is always my favorite part of the day.”

“Okay,” Jun nodded, averting his eyes from Ohno, suddenly feeling very warm. He grabbed his pajamas and and a clean pair of underwear and rushed to the bathroom.

The way the master bathroom was built was odd. There was a separate room for the bathroom to one side and then a short corridor that led to a changing area and then if you opened the next door, a massive bathing area. There were two shower heads and areas to sit and bathe and a large area to soak in. Jun wondered what kind of people would have had a use for such a large bathing area. But then again, it could be convenient if they both wanted to bathe at the same time.

He took off his clothes and immediately felt a sense of freedom with nothing constricting his body. He placed the jeans to the side as he could easily wear them again and put the rest of his clothes into the laundry basket before stepping into the bathing area. He started with removing his makeup with an oil based cleanser which stung his eyes while he tried to wash everything off.

Being a woman was not easy, but at least the other man was kind to him. As Jun washed away the day, he realized how wonderful this bathing area was as it reminded him of a hot spring. When he stepped into the hot water, he felt all of his troubles and anxieties melt away for the moment. Closing his eyes, he submerged himself under the surface of the water and just stayed here until his breath gave out and he had to surface.

+

Ohno was watching television on the couch fiddling with a fishing lure when he saw Jun come to the kitchen, hair dried and fluffy from lack of product, no makeup but lips that looked to have a fresh coat of lip balm, and wearing his new pajamas, a three-piece cotton set for women cut from the same floral pattern with a camisole, long pant bottoms, and a cardigan with a long back to it.

“You want some water?” asked Jun from the kitchen.

“Yeah,” called back Ohno.

Jun came by with a glass of iced water for Ohno and a room temperature glass for himself and sat in the other chair next to the sofa.

“Thanks,” Ohno said, staring at Jun.

“Does it look weird?” Jun asked, still maintaining his feminine speech register despite not having the makeup on.

“No, it looks cute,” Ohno commented, turning down the television volume. “Tomorrow I’m going to work.”

“Oh, okay,” Jun nodded. “Umm…what’s your work schedule like?”

“It depends on the season, but right now I usually work four to five 10-hour days. Sometimes if it’s busy we gotta work five to six days. Right now I’m off on Wednesdays and Saturdays.”

“What time will you leave and return?” Jun slowly asked as he made mental notes.

“Usually I get up around 3:15 or so, try to leave by 4:00. My shift starts at 5:00 and my crew is usually done by 3. I get home around 4 or 4:30. Sometimes I get dragged along to go drinking with the guys.”

“What time would you like to have dinner?” Jun continued to create the timetable in his head, but then giving up and walking to his duffel bag and pulling out a planner or journal of some sort.

“Huh?” Ohno watched as Jun wrote down some notes.

“Dinner? Or do you not want to eat at home?” Jun asked, wincing inside in fear that Ohno would just want to eat out with his friends.

“Oh, right! I forgot you can cook,” Ohno seemed to perk up in anticipation. “I’ll be home unless I tell you. Let’s eat at 6. I’ll leave the menu to you and I’ll take out some more cash tomorrow for the household expenses for the month. There’s an envelope in the drawer closest to the microwave. There should be 20,000 yen in there. You can use that to buy some groceries for this week. There’s a ton of rice in the cabinets, so please use it up. I always get rice from the old people in town since I often give fish to them.”

“Got it,” Jun nodded, his gel pen gliding over the paper producing neat characters. “What about your liquor preference?”

Ohno seemed confused.

“Should I buy some beer and have it chilled for you or do you prefer a particular sake or whiskey?” Jun clarified.

“Beer is good. Whatever is on sale is fine,” Ohno said vaguely before giving Jun a serious stare. “Jun.”

“Yes?” Jun looked up from his notes.

“For a guy, you are super attentive as a wife. You sure you don’t have prior experience with this?” Ohno commented, setting down his fidget gear and turning off the television. “I better hit the sack since I’ve got an early day. Oh, you have to be here for the furniture to arrive tomorrow. Just have them haul the old bed and put the new bed and dining table wherever you think it should go. I trust you.”

Ohno grabbed a blanket from the armrest to the couch. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight and you can sleep on the bed,” he said.

“Won’t your back be sore in the morning?” Jun asked.

“Nah, I’m used to sleeping on this couch,” Ohno waved, pointing to the basket of art supplies that was evidence that he often crashed on the couch.

“We can share the bed,” offered Jun. “Let’s sleep on the bed.”

Ten minutes later, Ohno was snoring softly and completely out. Jun lay awake. It was snug for them both to share this bed, but then Ohno rolled over and placed his arm around Jun’s waist, burying his face into Jun’s chest. Had he been wearing his bra, Ohno’s face would have been right in his cleavage. Ohno continued to sleep and Jun just patted his head while he tried to close his eyes to will himself to sleep.


	4. A Day in Our Life

Ohno’s alarm went off at 3:00 and he opened his eyes blearily as he shuffled to the bathroom to wash his face. He changed his clothes sleepily and just as he had put his socks on he noticed that the bed was empty. Wondering where his guest had gone, he walked towards the kitchen where he heard some pleasant sounds of chopping and the smell of breakfast filling his nostrils. Jun was still in his pajamas but had his new apron on. Hearing Ohno shuffling, Jun turned around and smiled.

“Good morning. I’m just about done. Give me one second,” he said, pouring some miso soup into a bowl and setting a tray on the counter with a bowl of rice, a small grilled fish filet, a small green salad, and three slices of apple.

“Did you wake up early to make me breakfast?” Ohno asked in disbelief as he approached the kitchen counter.

“You’re going to be out on the boat all day, right? You have to eat a good breakfast. I realized I hadn’t asked you if you wanted lunch, so I didn’t prepare anything, but if you want me to make you a bento, I can start doing that from tomorrow.”

“We…have…lunch on the boat…” Ohno approached the first home cooked breakfast he had since he moved out from his parents’. He took the first bite of fish and felt tears spring to his eyes. It was just salted and grilled, but it reminded him of how his mother used to make him breakfast.

“Satoshi-san, is it too salty?” Jun asked worriedly. “I’m so sorry! I really thought I was careful with the salt and—”

Ohno held up his hand and swallowed before speaking.

“It’s good, Jun. It really reminded me of my mother…thanks,” Ohno quickly finished his food in silence as Jun looked on helplessly leaning against the sink. “ _Gochisousama._ ”

Ohno set his chopsticks down and gratefully accepted the coffee mug that Jun handed to him as he wiped his eyes with the back of his jacket.

“ _Ittekimasu_ ,” he said, finishing his coffee. “Dinner at 6?”

“ _Itterasshai,_ see you then,” Jun smiled, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard Ohno’s loud boots fade into the direction of the dock.

+

The day went by rather uneventfully for Ohno. They had their regular lunch on the boat which was simple _onigiri_ and some fish from their company that they cooked on board during their mid-morning break. Ohno watched as the guys teased this poor new guy named Maruyama about the cute bento his wife made for him. Maruyama just blushed and said his wife was practicing her cooking game and while it looked cute, he was still hoping for better seasoning.

_Jun’s food is probably way better_.

Ohno surprising himself with the sudden thought as he stuffed the last bit of rice into his mouth and wiped his hands on his pants.

“Oi, Ohno,” called a chummy voice. Ohno felt a lanky arm over his shoulder and the smell of cologne which identified his caller.

“Yes, Nakai-san?” he replied with some irritation.

“You look so lost today, more than usual,” the older man with a scruffy beard commented. “Stuff on your mind?”

“Nothing that I’d want to share with you,” Ohno said dismissively, removing Nakai’s arm from his shoulder.

“Ohno, you’re always so cold,” grumbled Nakai.

“That’s only to you,” laughed a man named Higashiyama, putting his hand up for a high five, which Ohno immediately reciprocated.

“I am _senpai_ to you all,” yelled Nakai. “I’m the captain of the ship!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ohno rolled his eyes, checking the lines. “ _Senpai_ , why don’t you get back to work?”

Higashiyama held back Nakai as this was the daily exchange. Nakai would try to get Ohno’s goat and Ohno would retaliate like a crotchety old man, and they would go on until someone stopped them.

“Satoshi, go check those traps over there,” sighed Higashiyama.

“Laters, stupid Nakai,” Ohno stuck his tongue out and ran to the other side of the boat.

“Get back here, Ohno!” roared Nakai.

+

Ohno was exhausted when he got off the boat. Nakai had been goading him more than usual and it had been a hot day so he felt dehydrated. He stopped at a convenience store to get a drink on his way home and arrived home around 4:00.

Jun heard the door to the fishing room open and the sound of things banging around. Then came the sound of the garden hose and the sound of rushing water. A few minutes later, he heard Ohno walking in to remove his boots and take off his jacket.

“Welcome home, Satoshi-san,” Jun smiled from the hallway. He was wearing the tan skirt and blue blouse. Jun had a light layer of makeup on, but still looked very pretty to Ohno.

“ _Tadaima_ ,” Ohno smiled back, instantly forgetting the annoyances of his day. “You look pretty today.”

“Oh, I…” Jun stammered, flushing under his makeup. “My makeup doesn’t look that great because I’m still practicing. It’s just not as good as when Yamashita-san did it…”

“You’re so cute,” laughed Ohno. “I’m gonna take a bath.”

“ _Itterasshai_ ,” Jun said, stepping out of the way and walking back to the kitchen.

Ohno took a long soak in the bath and when he came out, he saw that Jun had straightened up the bedroom a bit more, hanging and folding his clothes neatly, arranging the few accessories he did have so they were neater, and the new bed had been made with their new bedding. The room smelled like Jun had recently vacuumed the carpet and wiped down the surfaces with some sort of fresh cleaning product.

Making his way to the kitchen, Ohno now saw that the table he had ordered had also arrived and Jun had dressed up the simple brown wooden table with some flowers. His kitchen seemed cleaner and brighter now that Jun had scrubbed off years of dirt and grime from the cabinets, flooring, and exposed surfaces. The living room still looked the same, but Jun had fixed the cushions and pillows.

“You’ve been a busy little bee,” Ohno commented.

“Did you have a good day at work?” Jun asked, stirring the pot on the stove before turning to face Ohno.

Ohno wrinkled his nose.

“It was okay,” he said sullenly. “But it immediately got better when I got home and saw you.”

“You’re so silly,” chided Jun. “How about a beer?”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Ohno agreed sitting down at the dining table.

Jun wiped his hands on his apron and fetched a dark brown bottle and brought it to Ohno with a glass. He took a bottle opener out of his apron pocket and effortlessly opened it. Ohno tiled the glass and Jun poured him the first glass.

“ _Otsukaresama_ ,” Jun said, waiting for Ohno to take the first sip of his beer.

“Man, that hits the spot!” Ohno exhaled, relaxing into the chair.

“How about some drinking snacks?” Jun asked.

“We have _drinking snacks_?” Ohno asked excitedly.

“I made some pickled Napa cabbage this morning. It’s got a sweet-sour taste since I put some vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil. There’s a hint of ginger too.”

“Yes! Bring it out,” Ohno nodded.

Jun served him a small rectangular dish of his homemade _otsumami_ and brought him a set of chopsticks.

“Mmm, so good,” Ohno praised, chewing the crunchy pickled vegetables and enjoying his beer. “Have some with me.”

Ohno held out a bite to Jun.

“Say, ahh,” he said.

“Satoshi-san, you’re embarrassing me,” Jun said awkwardly.

“Come on, have a bite and take a sip. You worked hard today too cleaning everything.” Ohno stretched his chopsticks forward and Jun eventually gave in and took a bite.

“It’s good, if I do say so myself,” Jun smiled.

“Yes, you are an amazing cook,” Ohno agreed. “Go get a glass and drink with me before dinner. It’s lonely just to drink by myself.”

Jun went to fetch another glass and Ohno this time poured him a glass.

“ _Kanpai_ ,” Ohno toasted, taking another gulp of alcohol and swooning slightly from the early buzz.

Jun listened to Ohno grumble about the ship, every so often going to the stove to check on the food, while they enjoyed a couple of bottles together. At around 5:45, Jun began to set the table, bringing a braised fish dish to the table, some accompanying vegetables, two bowls of rice, and some leftover miso soup from earlier that morning that Jun had added some tofu and _daikon_ to to transform it into a different flavor profile.

“I defrosted some of the fish from the freezer here,” Jun said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course, use whatever you want. I have so much seafood, we can eat whatever you feel like making. Jun, your food is so good. I feel like I might have some energy to do my art after work.”

“You should do your art too if that makes you happy. I can clean up when we’re done,” Jun wiped his hands on his apron and sat down across of Ohno.

“Don’t be silly. We can clean up together. I didn’t work a full day so I could go into my studio without admiring my beautiful wife,” Ohno gave him a wink, which made Jun look away in embarrassment. The rest of dinner went rather well. Jun was surprised that Ohno became so talkative since on the surface he seemed to be rather quiet especially in the presence of others. They cleaned up together and Ohno in his drunken cloud nine continued to tell Jun how cute and beautiful he was while they put away the food.

“Go work on your art or watch TV or something,” Jun laughed, taking the last dish from Ohno and placing it on the shelf with the other plates.

“Alright, but you should go relax too. You did a lot today so you deserve a break in the evening too,” Ohno nodded before stumbling into his studio and closing the door.

Jun calculated that he should stay in his appearance until at least 9:00 pm, reasoning that most people who might visit Ohno would drop by before then. While Ohno was in his studio, Jun watched television, wrote in his journal, and read the books that Ohno had in his living room. At 8:45, he took a long leisurely bath and changed to get ready for bed. He locked up the house, drew the curtains, and turned off all the lights except the hallway so Ohno could come to bed when he was ready.

Jun set his alarm for 2:15 and slowly dozed off with the night lamp still on. Around 10:00, Ohno shuffled to the bedroom, washed the pencil and charcoal from his fingers, washed his face and brushed his teeth. He changed into just the pajama bottoms and crawled into bed next to Jun. Looking at the angelic face that had begun to drool slightly, Ohno touched Jun’s bangs and leaned down bringing their faces closer together. At the last second, he pulled away and turned the light off. Ohno cuddled under the covers next to Jun and closed his eyes.

+

It had been nearly two months since Jun had moved in and assumed his new identity. The weather had warmed into fair May weather and today Jun had just finished the laundry when he heard the doorbell ring.

“Coming,” he called in his higher pitched voice, running inside and closing the sliding door behind him.

The person at the door announced themselves as they heard Jun approaching.

“Pelican Air Conditioning and Refrigeration!” the male voice called.

Jun stopped in confusion, but shrugged and opened the door cautiously as he had not called for any service. When he opened the door, he saw a familiar face dotted with many fine moles across his face.

“Please come in,” Jun said, allowing the man dressed as a repairman to enter the house. “I was not expecting you, Agent. Certainly not cosplaying as a repairman, not that I’m judging your hobbies mind you. Satoshi-san is out right now.”

“It’s not a hobby. I’m not cosplaying; I’m working undercover,” Ninomiya shot back, entering the house and following Jun to the kitchen once he had removed his shoes.

“Is this another of your disguises?” Jun asked, taking some mugs out and starting a pot of coffee.

“Yes, we don’t always show up in formal suits or our uniform for check-ins. Sometimes we like to do wellness checks under more innocuous guises like repairmen. I’m actually following another guy who actually works for the company on his rounds. He’s down the road with the actual truck. He thinks there’s a work order for this house, but only his boss knows the real reason I’m here today. I’ve also been listening to the chat around town.”

“Oh?” Jun said, bringing some snacks on a tray to the dining table while he waited for the coffee to brew. “What have you heard?”

“I think the town has become aware of your presence, though it does not seem like they have connected you and Ohno-san together. Do you interact with people much?”

“Not really. I just try to keep to myself. We’ve been to the furniture store once. I go to the supermarket down the road maybe every couple of days. I haven’t been to any place that has really required me to interact with anyone and I don’t really leave the house.”

Jun touched his hair self-consciously, prompting Ninomiya to another question. “Do you do your own hair and makeup?”

“Yes, why?” Jun stood up to get the coffee.

“It looks good, very natural,” Ninomiya praised, pulling a notepad out and taking some notes.

“Thanks,” Jun nodded, bringing the mugs full of steaming dark liquid that the agent accepted gratefully. “I’ve been growing it out, but it’s probably going to take awhile before I can get it long enough to cut into a more feminine style. The makeup, I’ve been practicing every day and I wear it from the time I get up in the morning to make Satoshi-san’s breakfast until about 9:00 pm. I usually have to wash it off midday and refresh it because it just isn’t meant to last 19 hours, but I make sure that I always check for the 5:00 shadow. I think my facial hair doesn’t grow that fast, so I’m usually okay. But I do need to make sure that I shave every morning. I have also shaved all the other hair from my body.”

“I’m sorry, how long are you awake?” the agent asked.

“Well, I usually wake up around 2:15 in the morning to make Satoshi-san breakfast on days that he has work and then I go about my day. Around 9:00 pm, I take a bath and wash my face off and that’s the only time I don’t have my makeup on. When he’s off, we wake up a little later so for me that would be maybe around 4:30, but I always have my face on now when he wakes up.”

“Do you always talk like this?” Ninomiya asked, coffee in one hand and pen in the other.

“Like this?” Jun repeated, seeking clarification.

“Using your higher voice and female speech?” clarified Ninomiya.

“Yes. It’s easier to stay in one identity,” Jun explained. “I haven’t used my regular voice since I last saw you. I’m also paranoid that someone might hear me and well, I tend to talk to myself when I’m alone, so I figured that it would be safest for me to not use my male voice at all. I guess I don’t mind it so much now that it’s sort of become part of who I am for most of the day. Even the underwear, which bothered me a lot in the first week isn’t so bad now.”

Jun tugged at his collar to show his pastel bra strap and quickly moved the collar back to cover up. “My back does hurt sometimes though and I do really like taking it off at the end of the day. But rest assured, Agent. I don’t have any of my clothes from before. I told Satoshi-san I was going to get rid of them and so I only have women’s clothing. It prevents me from being tempted to be lazy about my fashion choices if I know I’m not going out. I sleep in women’s pajamas, you can check.”

“Wow, Junka-san, I didn’t expect that you would be so serious about this,” the agent bobbed his head up and down with his arms crossed. “You’re really committed to your new identity.”

“Well, it’s not like I have a choice, right? There’s nowhere else for me to go and the safest is for me to assume this identity as a woman,” sighed Jun.

“Have you had any problems with Ohno-san?”

“What? No,” Jun shook his head, his thinner eyebrows knitting together in the same stare Ninomiya was more accustomed to seeing. “Satoshi-san is really nice to me all the time. We talk about everything and anything and we make each other laugh all the time—”

“Excuse me,” interrupted Ninomiya, setting his mug down. “You guys talk and laugh all the time?”

“Yes, what of it?” Jun inquired. “When we’re eating breakfast, he tells me about what he has to do at work for the day or what he’s hoping to work on for his art. Then when he comes home, we drink and have some snacks together while we wait for dinner. We talk more during dinner, clean up, and then he goes and does his art or watches TV. Sometimes I join him, other times I just have time to myself. On our days off, we sometimes do errands together, but it’s pretty fun hanging around him. He’s so silly—he always tells me how cute and pretty I am—as if he needs to say that in the privacy of our home. I can understand why he’d say it in public, but he’s so quirky like that…what?”

Ninomiya had his jaw open as he listened to Jun ramble on about Ohno for the last few minutes. “Are you kidding me?” the agent asked clearly baffled.

“Yes, we talk and laugh a lot. He’s really genuine and refreshingly open and honest. I like that about him. Why are you making that face at me?” Jun frowned as he took a sip of coffee.

Ninomiya shook his head.

“I’ve been listening to the chatter around town for the past two weeks since I’m also checking in on another person who was recently relocated away from here and making sure their host is okay and I’ve been asking around very innocently about Ohno-san. That guy is supposedly super anti-social and barely says two words. Everyone says he has kind of an eccentric vibe, though the old people seem to speak highly of him. I hear he sometimes helps them like he’s their grandson or something. Some people know he’s a fisherman. They know he moved to town within the past few years, but they say he mostly keeps to himself. Just based on what you say, it doesn’t feel like we are remotely talking about the same person.”

“You didn’t know this about him when you were looking for a sponsor for me?” Jun asked with slight annoyance.

“No, I was looking at broader criteria like your safety and the likelihood of people to find you,” Ninomiya replied with a slide edge of defensiveness. “Ohno Satoshi was supposedly a good hit because he lived alone, was a fisherman with stable work, he had some money of his own, no criminal record or history of violence, stable mental health, and by his employment and educational records seemed to be an okay guy.”

“Well, I like Satoshi-san as my sponsor and if you don’t need to move me, I’d like to stay here,” Jun said with some pouty finality.

“That’s good. I didn’t come here today to uproot you,” exhaled Ninomiya in relief. “I just came to see how things were and to make sure you had what you needed here. I don’t have any news on your case right now. There’s a lot of stalling in the system now, so we just have to be patient.”

“Oh, I see…” Jun looked down disappointedly.

“Can you tell me about a normal day for you?” Ninomiya asked. One of his other jobs was to evaluate whether or not witnesses were likely to try to contact someone from their past. He had found that people who were getting along with their sponsors and had somehow found some fulfillment in their new identities tended to be less likely to try to connect with their past and therefore kept themselves out of harms way longer. This translated to less headache for the veteran agent, so he wanted to do everything in his power to make sure witnesses had a good fit in their new life no matter how temporary or permanent it needed to be.

“Ummm, okay. Where to start?” Jun saw that Ninomiya had finished his coffee so he went to start another pot. “If Satoshi-san has work, I usually wake up at 2:15. I sometimes heat up the leftovers or make something new for breakfast if we don’t have anything leftover.”

“What do you make?”

“Oh, just anything we have. Mostly traditional-style with the grilled fish or some sort of leftover main dish, rice, salad, and soup. Sometimes I have fruit. We have a lot of seafood in the freezer, so there’s never any shortage and Satoshi-san never complains. Satoshi-san wakes up at around 3:00 and comes into the kitchen around 3:30. He has some breakfast and sometimes we talk if he’s not too sleepy. Then he drinks his coffee to warm up, puts his gear on and boots and then walks to the dock around 4:00 for his 5:00 am shift.”

“What about your breakfast?” Ninomiya took out Jun’s file and began to rifle as if he were looking for something.

“I usually eat a little later. 3:30 is too early for me to eat anything, so I usually wash his dishes and then while they’re drying, I start the laundry. Then I do some exercise. Sometimes I do some pushups, crunches, or stretches. I went for a run once, but I realized I got too sweaty and I was worried that people might see me, so I’ve just been exercising at home. Depending how vigorous it is, I sometimes need to take a quick shower and so I clean the bathtub and bathing area while I’m at it.

At around 6:00, I eat breakfast and read the newspaper while watching the news on TV. I plan out my day in my daily planner and then around 7:00, I start cleaning other parts of the house, like making the bed, picking up stuff off the floor, washing more laundry. I sometimes have some projects like window cleaning or scrubbing the floors. At 9:00, I watch some TV for a bit and sometimes take a short nap on the couch. Around late morning, I start preparing myself a small lunch to tide me over until Satoshi-san comes back. He usually is back by around 4:00, so I try not to eat a lot since we always have alcohol and lots of food for dinner. After that, I usually do some grocery shopping or shopping for some necessities. I usually take some time for tea around 2:00 and then I start preparing for dinner around 3:00.

When Satoshi-san comes home, he likes to take a bath and then when he comes out, we drink some beers with some drinking snacks that I usually make with whatever is in season or he brings home and then we have dinner around 6:00 pm. We eat dinner, clean up together and usually Satoshi-san likes to work on his art for a couple of hours while I do some reading and then I take a bath around 9:00 and am usually in bed sleeping by 10:00.”

“Sounds like you hardly leave the house,” Ninomiya confirmed.

“Yes, I believe I mentioned that earlier,” Jun agreed.

“Sounds like a long day for you…”

“I guess so,” shrugged Jun, filling the agent’s cup with more fresh coffee. “I don’t mind. I’m pretty busy throughout the day but I have a lot of downtime for myself to rest if I need to.”

Ninomiya turned the page of his notebook loudly before changing the topic of inquiry. “What about days when Ohno-san is off?”

“Well, we’ve only had a few of those so far, but we just wake up a little later. Satoshi-san usually likes to do art and only if we really need to run errands, we will leave. But on days with no errands, honestly, I just make him food throughout the day. Sometimes we eat lunch together, other times he takes his lunch in his studio. We usually eat dinner together, but no other difference. If there’s housework to be done, I do it. If not, I get some time to myself.”

“What do you do for yourself?” Ninomiya asked, curious about how a man like Matsumoto Jun managed to fill his time when Ohno was home and in their space.

“Mostly read and write in my journal,” Jun shrugged. “Sometimes I ask Satoshi if I can use his phone to look up recipes.”

“You don’t have a computer here?” Ninomiya asked looking around.

“No, and I don’t have a phone, so I just ask Satoshi-san if I can use his phone when I want to look up recipes.”

“How does he get a hold of you?”

“The house phone,” Jun replied, pointing to the antiquated phone at the edge of the kitchen. “It’s fine. We don’t really need a computer here.”

“You should tell Ohno-san to buy you a computer and phone. Look, if there are things that you need like that or more clothes or food or whatever—”

“I’m fine,” Jun cut off Ninomiya, his voice trembling. “I don’t want to be a burden on him. I don’t need those things right now. I’m fine with what we have.”

Ninomiya stared at Jun who seemed to be shaking visibly. It was a stark contrast to the person he met ruling the police station from the protective cell when Jun had first run to the police for protection. That Jun was bold and confident, demanding that the police cater to his every whim, whereas the one who sat in front of him dressed as Ohno Satoshi’s beautiful housewife looked meek, hesitant, and just seemed like a totally different person. Had Ninomiya not placed Jun here himself, he would have been fooled as there was no way Ohno Junka could be the same as Matsumoto Jun.

“ _Tadaima—_ ” It was at that moment that Ohno returned home with a box in hand to find a repairman and his lovely Jun in a conversation that looked uncomfortable at best.

“Jun?” Ohno immediately ran to his side. “Oi! What the hell did you do to her?”

Ohno lashed out, to grab the other man’s uniform with surprising strength given his size before he could figure out who Jun had been talking to.

“Agent Ninomiya?” Ohno said in slow recognition, releasing his grip. “What the hell happened here?”

Jun looked away and said nothing.

“Do you need something?” Ohno demanded in a rare display of emotion in front of the agent who was used to a more passive interaction.

“I just came to check in and see how things were,” Ninomiya played it off casually, which only made Ohno angrier.

“Then why does he look so upset? What the hell did you say to him?”

“Nothing. I have no idea why Junka-san would be upset,” the agent placed a mask of neutrality on his face. “But I can say that it looks like the two of you get along rather swimmingly. Junka-san makes a good wife for you. Ohno-san makes a good sponsor and provider for Junka-san.”

Ohno hated having to think too much. This agent made his head hurt with his weird words that made no sense.

“We’re happy with the arrangement. There’s nothing wrong. If there’s nothing else, can you please leave?” Ohno asked tersely.

“Perfect. Glad to know you’re okay with this. I’ll note it as such in the file and be back to check on you soon. I’ll see myself out,” waved the agent.

When they heard the door close, Ohno turned to Jun.

“What a slime ball, that Agent Ninomiya,” he spat, shaking his head. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you or say anything to you?”

“I’m fine, he was just annoying me,” Jun smiled, forcing himself to brush off the encounter.

“Well, next time, just kick him out,” Ohno said grandly as if he had the power of a king.

“I can’t do that,” sniffed Jun, his forced smile softening to a real one. “He’s the agent in charge of the case. There’s no one better and I just have to put up with his annoying questions and feedback. I’m glad you came back when you did.”

“Say,” Ohno said, picking up the box where he had left it and bringing it to Jun. “I was thinking…maybe we could go out to dinner tonight. You’ve been cooking a lot and I thought we could try that new place that opened up by the dock. It’s a French-Italian fusion place and I heard they have good bread and the most delicious white fish something or another. We got a bonus last week since we had a huge haul, so I thought we could try it. Or do you not like Western food?”

“It sounds fancy,” Jun replied uneasily.

“We should treat ourselves once in awhile,” Ohno urged. “Here. This is for you.”

Ohno handed Jun the shipping box, which was sent from YP Fashions courtesy of Yamashita. Jun’s eyes widened and looked to Ohno.

“Go on.”

Jun pulled the packing tape off the shipping box which revealed another massive box that was wrapped more like a present. Pulling the box out from the shipping box, Jun carefully set it on the dining table. He tugged at the royal purple satin ribbon which immediately gave way so the lid could easily be lifted. Inside the box was a light pink dress. When Jun lifted it out, he could see it was the same style as the burgundy dress he had seen the day he got his new wardrobe.

“Oh my…Satoshi-san…” Jun gasped. As a man he would not have appreciated such a gift, but as his identity as Ohno Junka, wife of Ohno Satoshi, he felt himself swoon as he knew the dress itself was expensive. “This is too much…”

“No, you deserve it,” he smiled gently, taking the dress from Jun. “Check the box.”

Jun looked into the box and saw that there was a matching purse and a pair of nice heels to go with the dress.

“This is too much for me to accept,” Jun protested.

“No, you can and will accept it,” Ohno nodded, staring Jun down as if he had the power to hypnotize with his eyes. “And you’re going to join me tonight to try some really good bread and fish because we both worked really hard—I was on that damn boat with that damn chatterbox Nakai for 3 whole days without your food and you cleaned up everything in our house including organizing my studio, washing down all the fishing gear and windows in the house and displaying all of my completed artwork—we deserve a break. I took tomorrow off, just so we can have a good time tonight. We’re gonna get dressed up, drink some good alcohol, eat some good food, go dancing in the club downstairs, and pretend like we are still in Tokyo for just one night. Yes?”

“Okay,” Jun nodded, looking at the clock. “What time is the reservation?”

“7:00.”

“That’s not enough time,” Jun stood up in a panic. “I’m going to get ready now. Do you want to take a bath first?”

“No, no, you go ahead. I imagine you need more time to,” Ohno waved his hands helplessly around his body. “To beautify?”

“Thanks, I’m going to bathe first then,” Jun smiled. “Thank you, Satoshi-san. I’m so excited to spend tonight with you.”


	5. Date Night (夜のデート)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains some sexually explicit references and content between our couple.

When Jun went to take a bath, Ohno brought the boxes and Jun’s attire to the bedroom to hang up. He realized how few clothes Jun had. Since their initial wardrobe purchase, Jun had not brought anything for himself except for a bunch of different colored scarves that he had found at the 100 yen store that looked quite fancy, despite Ohno urging him to use whatever was leftover from the household budget for himself. Jun had a lot of products for his face, but his wardrobe was still limited to the outfits he had chosen on the day they met. Jun had a small corner of the top of the dresser for his makeup and single piece of jewelry, but most of the items in the bedroom were still predominantly Ohno’s.

Matsumoto Jun was a handsome man in his late 20s. He seemed well-spoken, though had a somewhat checkered resumé. Ohno did not know much about his life before he came to live with him and he suspected that Jun wanted to keep it that way. He found himself opening up to this person he barely knew. This sensitive younger man dressed as a woman to protect his identity somehow just knew what he wanted and needed at precisely the moment he wanted and needed it. Ohno had found himself more inspired and energized to create more art since Jun arrived. He attributed it half to Jun’s home cooking and the other half to his beauty that radiated both in his female and male form.

His house was clean and organized, his finances were in a much better shape with not only the extra income but also from Jun controlling his frivolous spending, he had so much more energy despite being in his 30s, he was healthier and happier overall. He found that the improvement in his mood made him want to also make Jun happy. However, Jun always seemed so quiet and reserved. Perhaps the other man felt it was part of his role as a female or perhaps he was still trying to adjust to life in the country. In any case, Ohno hoped that the night he had planned would convey to Jun how much the beautiful man meant to him and how grateful he was and it would bring out some of the passion he could see burning deep in his eyes when he thought that no one was looking.

Ohno fell asleep on the bed and woke up to the sound of Jun blow drying his hair which had grown out considerably to the nape of his neck. Jun had dyed it from the light brown it was back to a dark chestnut which was very close to black. Jun was wearing his pajamas of all things while he did his hair, sitting on a cargo crate in front of the dresser as his makeshift vanity that had a small round mirror that Jun used to get ready each day.

“Hey, sleepy head,” Jun smiled. “Bath is free now.”

Ohno nodded and shuffled to the bath. When he finished and emerged in his usual bath towel wrapped around the waist, Jun had finished his foundation and eyebrows and was now curling the ends of his hair with a small hair straightener.

“I didn’t realize you owned an iron,” Ohno looked on curiously.

“I used to straighten my bangs before to look more presentable,” Jun held the iron in place and made a curl at the end of the section he was working with. “This was the compact one I had in my work bag that the police eventually brought to me. Right now I wish I had a curling iron.”

Ohno walked to the closet and began to rummage through his clothes. Jun could hear the rustling of stiff fabric as Ohno got dressed. It was a different sound than the clothes that Ohno usually wore. And then there was a sound that the never heard. It was the sound some of his shirts made—the sound of a silk button up shirt. Jun turned around and saw that Ohno had dark dress slacks lazily sitting on his waist and had laid its matching jacket on the bed. He was now buttoning up a navy blue silk shirt and looked up at the third button from the top to see Jun staring at him.

“Like what you see?” Ohno joked, buttoning up the rest of the shirt to leave just the very top button open.

Jun’s mouth was dry as a desert as he watched Ohno zip up his slacks and run the leather belt through to secure his outfit.

“I didn’t realize you owned clothes like this,” Jun finally found his voice.

“You didn’t look through my clothes?” Ohno asked in surprise.

“I did, but I guess I was so overwhelmed with all the other stuff that screamed local fisherman and artist that I didn’t notice that you also owned clothes like this.”

“Whew!” Ohno laughed, tucking the extra belt into the loops at his waist. “I was hoping that this outfit was going to fit. With the way I’ve been eating, I was hoping that I wasn’t gaining weight in the wrong places, but this outfit fitting like this means I’m the same size as when I first came here. Which means…”

Jun raised an eyebrow warily.

“It means your food hasn’t made me fat. It’s kept me in good shape,” smiled Ohno, putting his hands on his hips to accentuate that he too had a nice figure like Jun. “Now hand me that hair dryer so I can go dry my hair.”

Jun handed the hair dryer to Ohno who walked into the bathroom where the larger mirror was to finish getting ready. Ohno came out of the bathroom with wax in his hair to give him extra height in a stylish wave on one side of his hair. He had a silver chain around his neck and was wearing the shiny watch that he used to wear when he worked in an office in Tokyo. Jun had just finished and was putting on his dress when he smelled a pleasant waft of cologne as Ohno entered the room looking like a completely different person.

“Satoshi-san…?” Jun squeaked.

“Want me to zip you up, Jun?” Ohno asked.

“Yes, please,” Jun nodded, feeling dizzy from the fact that he skipped lunch and that Ohno’s cologne simply overpowered his senses.

Ohno deftly zipped up the dress from the back and secured the fastener at the top. Jun gave a gasp as the dress cinched around his curves. Ohno took a step back and felt his own face flush as he took his his breath.

“Wow, just like I thought,” sighed Ohno. “This is the color for you. It’s not baby pink, but I asked if they could make it just a little darker and this is perfect. You look gorgeous.”

Jun licked his lips as he felt how close Ohno was to him staring at him in close proximity as if he were analyzing each detail of his face and body.

“You look nice too, Satoshi-san,” Jun breathed.

They stared at each other, eyes locked in the moment. And then the doorbell rang.

“That must be the taxi,” Ohno said awkwardly, reaching for his jacket and dress shoes. “I’ll go out to meet the driver and you can finish getting ready.”

+

Jun emerged a few minutes later fidgeting with the tiny scarf tied around his neck to see Ohno standing outside the car talking to the drive who seemed to be a friend of his. When the saw him, the driver motioned for Jun to enter first, followed by Ohno. He got into the front seat and began to drive.

“Ohno-san, who is this lovely lady?” the driver asked with amusement in his voice.

“This joker here is my friend Okada, but I just call him Okadacchi, like the Tamagotchi that was popular back in the day,” Ohno said to Jun. “We used to be in the same circle in high school.”

“Oi, Ohno. Don’t ignore my question,” the driver yelled. “Who’s your lady friend and how the hell did a yahoo like you get a babe like that?”

“Okadacchi, this is my wife, Junka,” Ohno said smoothly as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Your wife?! Holy shit, man! When did you get married?” Okada exclaimed excitedly.

“About a year ago. She was still living in Tokyo finishing out her contract and she just moved here about a month ago.”

“Damn, you got a fine lady,” Okada sulked, shaking his head in disbelief. “Junka-san, this guy here is the joker, not me, alright?”

Jun looked up to see the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror, laughing at the corners.

“You must have it rough, Junka-san,” Okada acknowledged. “This guy—I had to room with him for a _gasshuku_ camp, right? He doesn’t say two words to me for 3 days. We’re supposed to be roommates and training together for the next month, right? I’m a shy guy, but I tell myself this one time, I’m gonna try and make friends. I get roomed with this guy named Ohno Satoshi and I say as bravely as I can, ‘Yo, I’m Okada Junichi’. What does he do? He fucking ignores me and continues to stare out at the window in a state of nothingness. And then I call him out on it three days later and all he can say is, ‘I’m sorry, it’s nice to meet you for the first time, _senpai_ ’ and I yell at him, ‘We’re the same fuckin’ age, moron! And we’ve been rooming for the past 3 days together!’ What a putz!”

Okada and Ohno are laughing at their first meeting and Jun could not help but smile as this was the first time he saw Ohno happily interacting with someone he was close with. Okada brought them to the front of the restaurant and hit the switch to open the back door.

“Thanks, Okadacchi,” Ohno said, placing the exact fare on the tray.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Junka-san,” Okada smiled.

“Likewise, Okada-san,” Jun bowed graciously.

“Okadacchi, come over for drinks one day,” Ohno cocked his chin up at his friend, stepping out and helping Jun out of the backseat.

Okada rolled down the window and held out his hand.

“You got it. Call me on your next day off and we’ll drink the whole night away,” laughed Okada.

“Later, man,” Ohno shook the other’s hand.

They waved off the taxi and Ohno put on his jacket. “Sorry about that. Okadacchi means well. He’s so loud sometimes and we get into it because of our _senpai_ joke, but he’s a good guy. I didn’t know he’d be coming to pick us up today, but I’m glad I got to see him. Shall we?”

Ohno held his arm out and Jun linked his with Ohno’s following him into the restaurant. They checked into the front desk on the first floor and were guided to the elevator that took them up to the area that gave its patrons the best view of the ocean. Their table is halfway into the restaurant as as they pass, Jun felt people staring at them as they are escorted further and further in. The whispers make Jun nervous and he clung to Ohno’s arm with a grip most unbecoming of a lady.

“Satoshi-san…” he whined quietly.

Ohno put his other hand on Jun’s arm and rubbed it to reassure him with a smile.

“Madam,” the waiter prompted, pulling out the chair for Jun.

Ohno sat opposite of him so they could both see the ocean as the sun slowly sank into the horizon. Ohno could see that Jun was very nervous as he kept tugging at his skirt.

“Jun,” Ohno smiled, handing Jun the menu. “Relax. How about you order us some wine? Anything you want. Or maybe some appetizers?”

Jun nodded and took a look at the list. Immediately recognizing some of his favorites, he looked shyly to Ohno.

“Oh, looks like you know what you want,” Ohno joked. “I knew you would feel at home. My Jun loves good food and good alcohol.”

They chatted about the items they were interested and when it seemed as like they were about decided, their server came by and a blushing Jun straightened up and immediately with the professionalism of a sommelier, ordered a bottle for them. Ohno ordered the food and the menus were cleared, leaving the two of them staring awkwardly at each other.

“This is nice,” Jun smiled. “Is this what you see every day when you come to work?”

“Yep,” Ohno nodded pointing to the east. “There’s my company over there. And that’s the boat that I’ve been working on these past few years.”

“The ocean is so beautiful. That’s one thing we don’t appreciate in Tokyo. We don’t really go to the beach, but here…it’s so nice…” Jun sighed and Ohno wanted so badly to sketch this scene with Jun’s feminine features facing the window wearing his pretty dress and his hair done up.

“Want to go out with me one day?” Ohno offered, half expecting Jun to decline as it really was not as glamorous as Jun was probably imagining it to be.

“To work or for pleasure?”

“Both or either…”

“I’d love to,” Jun smiled. “I don’t know how much help I could possibly be on a boat in these kinds of clothes. But spending time with just you Satoshi-san would probably be a lot of fun. We could just stare out into the ocean and you could teach me how to catch fish.”

“If you came on the work boat, we’d have you cook for us!” Ohno laughed cheerily. “No more basic lunch, that’s for sure. If you want, when the summer weather is good, we can rent a boat on my day off and we can go fishing.”

“I’d like that, Satoshi-san,” Jun nodded. “Please let me know if you need lunch or food for your coworkers. I can always make something for you all—”

“Ohno?” a nasal voice called from a few feet away, causing Jun’s date to bristle visibly.

“Oi, oi, oi,” some male voices jeered coming over to their table.

“Are you on a date or something?” the first voice asked.

“What a surprise to see you all,” Ohno acknowledged quietly, his mood quickly changing to a more introverted persona, closing himself off.

“Satoshi,” waved Higashiyama.

“Higashi,” acknowledged Ohno.

“Ohno-kun, this must be why you couldn’t join us,” a jollier older man said smiling behind them all.

“Yes, Boss Man. I apologize, I had already made plans,” Ohno gestured to Jun.

_This is what Ninomiya had been talking about. Mr. Anti-Social._ Jun thought as he watched Ohno interact with his coworkers and boss.

“Wow, look at Ohno’s date, what a babe,” commented someone from the back.

“Shut up, Yoko,” hissed another.

Ohno sighed seeing that they were not going to leave unless they met his date or their food arrived. He addressed his boss.

“Boss Man, this is my wife, Junka,” Ohno said quietly, hoping that Jun would humor them and planning his next move. “Jun, this is my boss and the owner of the company, Kondo Masahiko- _shachou_. We call him ‘Boss Man’.”

Jun bowed ever so graciously and looked up to the president, and older guy with tanned skin and sun streaked brown hair graying slightly at the temples. He gave a huge smile befitting of a model or celebrity.

“My name is Ohno Junka. It is such a pleasure to meet you, Kondo- _shachou_. Thank you for always taking care of my Satoshi. Every day I fear for his safety as he goes out, but he has assured me on countless occasions that he has such a trustworthy crew that there is nothing to worry about. Meeting you and your crew makes me feel so relieved. Kondo- _Shachou_ and members of Satoshi’s crew, please continue to guide and take care of my Satoshi.”

Jun bowed once again and every single man blushed including the boss himself.

“Junka-san, you can count on us!” The crew all bowed, to the surprise of everyone else in the restaurant as the words echoed throughout the restaurant.

“Ohno! What a woman you caught for yourself!” an older man said. It was the first voice that Jun had heard. “What was it, an arranged marriage? And she’s even taller than you—”

“Nakai-san, please stop. Let’s let them enjoy their date,” Higashiyama said, pulling him back and bowing to Jun briefly removing his fedora briefly. “Hello, I’m Higashiyama, by the way…”

Jun bowed in acknowledgement and then stood up.

“Ah, Nakai-san,” Jun took the man by his rough hand, placing his pale white one over it gently. “My Satoshi has told me so much about you. Please continue to take care of him as his _senpai_. I just don’t know what I would do if something ever happened to Satoshi. He is my everything and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. Please, Nakai-san. You’re his supervisor on the boat, right?”

Everyone stared at Nakai, who for the first time, was rendered speechless. The woman in front of him nearly had tears in her eyes.

“Come on, Na-ka-i,” jeered the others, elongating his name for emphasis, the emotion running higher than a mob of Akihabara otaku at an idol meet and greet. “Don’t make Junka-san cry! Don’t be a heel, you ass! Promise you’ll take care of Ohno! Look at the poor thing. So young and in love with Ohno. She looks like she’s about to cry.”

“Nakai-san,” Jun urged, bowing his head.

“Alright already,” Nakai conceded, breaking under the pressure. “I’ll take care of Ohno as my _kouhai_. You can count on me, Junka-san.”

“Oh, thank you, Nakai-san! This means so much to me,” Jun gushed, placing his hand on Nakai’s forearm while every other member of the crew looked on enviously.

_Lucky bastard!_ They all thought. Ohno at this point had no idea what was going on with Jun and his coworkers on this runaway train drama scene.

“Stop,” Nakai blushed, taking his hand away. “I got you, Junka-san…I’ll bring him back to you safely every day…”

“Alright, everyone,” Kondo said rounding up the men. “Let’s leave Ohno and Junka-san alone so they can enjoy themselves. They don’t need all of you hanging all over them. Ohno, see you the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, Boss Man,” Ohno nodded respectfully.

“Ladies, let’s roll,” Kondo waved to his crew and ushered them to start heading towards the private room in the back. The older man turned to Ohno seriously. “Ohno, you take care of her. Any woman that can shut up chatterbox Nakai like that is a keeper.”

He winked and strolled away dandily. When they all left, the servers brought the wine and some appetizers and Ohno breathed a sigh of relief. “What just happened?” he groaned.

“They seem nice,” Jun smiled.

“What the hell were you back in Tokyo, an actor?” Ohno asked shaking his head, reaching for a glass of the white wine that had been poured for them.

“Just a freeter,” Jun winked coyly, raising his glass.

“ _Kanpai_ ,” Ohno toasted, tapping his glass to Jun’s.

They took a sip and felt the alcohol immediately hit their faces.

“You had them wrapped around your little finger,” Ohno exhaled, shaking his head in disbelief. “You turned them all against Nakai and you charmed my boss. Who the hell are you?”

“Just Ohno Junka,” Jun grinned, taking a large sip of wine.

+

The two stuffed themselves with food and wine for the next few hours. They drank and laughed and everyone in the restaurant marveled at the seemingly celebrity interaction they could observe from their tables as the sharply dressed Ohno and the stunning Junka laughed and spoke excitedly with only eyes for one another in their own world.

Ohno eventually called for the bill and when it arrived, he saw a message had been written on it.

[ _Sorry we interrupted your date. I hope you had a nice time. You’re a lucky man to find a good woman like her. Don’t let her go. —Kondo_ ]

He looked up at the server.

“They’ve gone home for the night, sir. Thank you for joining us this evening. Please excuse me,” the server scuttled away unhelpfully.

“Kondo- _shachou_ paid for our dinner,” Ohno said one again at a loss for words. “Look.”

“That’s so kind of him. Looks like he really wanted you to join them. Why didn’t you go with your coworkers?” Jun read the receipt and handed it back to Ohno.

“I was really tired after I came off the boat after I spent those 3 days with Nakai. I begged the boss for some time off and he told me I could have today and tomorrow in a row, so I took it and called this restaurant last week when they gave us our bonuses. I ordered your dress from Yamashita-san and was planning and then they guys told me yesterday and asked if I wanted to have dinner with them tonight and I told them I already had plans. They let it go, but I didn’t think that we’d end up at the same restaurant and I didn’t know the boss was buying.”

“Satoshi-san, you should get to know your coworkers better. You gotta trust each other on that boat, right?” Jun scolded gently. “You don’t have to come home every night to have dinner with me, you know?”

“Yes, I do. That’s one thing I won’t compromise,” Ohno said stubbornly. “I’ll go drinking with them, but I’m eating dinner with my wife every night.”

“Satoshi-san, you have the weirdest things you’re stubborn on,” laughed Jun. “But that’s what I like about you. You’re so different. I love it.”

“Wanna go dancing?” Ohno asked suddenly. There it was. Ohno’s famous switching of the topics and pretending he did not hear or intentionally not acknowledging what came prior in the conversation. Jun was used to it and did not mind. He simply extended his hand to Ohno, who helped him out of the chair.

“I’d love to go dancing,” he agreed. “Where are we going?”

Ohno led them out of the restaurant. “Just a few blocks away. There’s a night club where we can dance and get more drinks. How are your feet?”

“Not bad. I’ve been sitting the whole time, so I think I could dance a few hours,” Jun reasoned, clearly clouded by the intoxication of having drunk two bottles of wine with Ohno.

“Let’s go,” Ohno said, linking arms with Jun and stumbling towards the night club that was already raging.

+

“Drinks or dancing?” Ohno yelled as they made their way in.

“Shots?” Jun suggested excitedly.

“You got it,” Ohno pulled Jun towards the bar counter. “Two shots of Grey Goose, my man.”

The bartender nodded and poured the shots. Ohno handed his card to open the tab and then handed Jun the shot.

“Ready? 3, 2, 1, go!”

As soon as they took the shot, they felt the burn and rushed over to the dance floor. Ohno kept them steady and it was then that Jun felt Ohno moving sensually to the beat. He had his hands around Jun’s waist and led each and every song, forcing Jun to his unique rhythm that flowed with each song, but kept Jun anxious with anticipation as he could not predict when he would be twirled around or when Ohno would slide the front of his lithe body down the front of Jun’s driving him mad with sexual tension. Ohno’s strong fingers held him and pressed against various parts of his back and buttocks. Jun’s natural flexibility allowed him to keep up with every move Ohno had to throw at him until they were sweating profusely having danced his workout for 12 songs in a row.

“Satoshi-san,” breathed Jun. “I’m thirsty…”

“You want another shot?” Ohno bit his lip and looked up at Jun with half-lidded eyes.

“Yeah? Can we do another?” Jun felt himself losing to the lights, music, and ecstasy of being in a night club, something he greatly missed having left Tokyo.

“Let’s go,” Ohno guided him back to the bar. It was so loud, Jun barely registered what was going on until Ohno handed him another shot, which they took. And then the bartender lined them up with another shot at Ohno’s request.

“Two in a row?” giggled Jun.

“Why not? 3, 2, 1, go!”

They slammed the shot glasses back on the counter and headed back to the dance floor, which was filling up as the night wore on. So many bodies yet Ohno only had eyes for Jun. He glared at anyone who dared to ask Jun for a dance. Jun’s eyes were so glassy and he loved feeling Ohno’s rippling muscles and body rubbing against him in his dress, the artist’s hands possessively caressing him and the breath he felt every time Ohno came close to his neck.

Unbeknownst to Jun, Ohno was sporting a massive erection in his pants the more he danced. Jun looked so beautiful shimmering in sweat under the lights and he was so pliable under Ohno’s touch that Ohno was finding it very difficult to hold back. He wanted to kiss Jun, smelling Jun’s fancy skin care products and lotion. He did not care whether it was female Jun or male Jun. Jun was Jun, the person he had grown to care for and with whom he had formed an intimate emotional bond with—the only one in his entire adult life.

“I love this song…Jun, can I kiss your neck?” begged Ohno, when he heard one of his favorite hip-hop songs come on. He closed his eyes as a small part of his brain realized what he just said, but the rest of his brain was too far gone to do anything about it to follow up.

Jun looked down and saw the embarrassment in Ohno’s features. His eyes were fluttering from he lights, but Jun could see that he was biting down on his lower lip and gripping Jun much harder than he had been. “Satoshi-san, are you okay?” Jun asked, pulling away for a bit, much to Ohno’s disappointment.

And then Jun saw it—Ohno was so hard under his slacks. He had not noticed since the folds of his skirt formed somewhat of a barrier, but now he could see Ohno panting and looking desperate. No stranger to sex, Jun saw the lust in Ohno’s eyes, but he could also see that Ohno was trying not to scare him away.

“If you don’t want me to, it’s okay,” Ohno panted, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, trying to slow his heart rate. “Just tell me.”

Jun’s eyes darted left and right. The music was loud and everyone was drunk and having a good time. Time seemed to slow for him as he darted from choice to choice. It seemed like minutes, but was in reality only milliseconds.

“I can take care of this in the bathroom if it weirds you out,” Ohno said his breath ragged, bringing Jun’s attention back to reality. “But I think, I’m not even close, so I’m still fine to dance.”

“Careful,” Jun said lifting his scarf and bringing their bodies close together. “Don’t expose my throat…”

Ohno pressed himself into Jun and began to kiss and suck on Jun’s neck as they continued to dance. It had been awhile for Jun too and Jun felt his eyes roll back into the back of his head as the soft lips pulled and teased at his collarbone and neck. The scarf was in the way for sure, but Ohno was determined to suck at whatever flesh was offered to him. And then Ohno leaned up to kiss the patch of skin right behind Jun’s jawline under his ear and Jun nearly fainted. It was his most sensitive spot and the little suckerfish had found it. To distract him, Jun put his index finger to Ohno’s lips to stop him, which he clearly protested to. Then he lifted Ohno’s chin forcing Ohno to look at his face.

“Not there, Satoshi-san,” Jun whispered, causing a shiver to run through Ohno. “Right here…”

And then Jun lowered his lips to Ohno’s. Ohno’s eyes fluttered open in surprise and Jun’s tongue came down his throat in the hottest kiss that Ohno had ever received. Ohno’s mouth was open to receive the frontal attack that Jun gave him in the form of deep, sensual kisses. Jun stole Ohno’s breath mercilessly as he refuse the other air until Ohno was forced to break away for air.

“Holy…shit…you’re a kissing demon…” Ohno swore, blinking as his eyes struggled to focus.

“Are you done dancing yet?” Jun asked, entwining his fingers with Ohno’s, leading him back to the bar.

“Is there another stage after dancing?” panted Ohno, anticipating more shots at the bar.

“Close your tab and find out,” Jun raised his eyebrows knowingly and daring him with his eyelashes.

Ohno gulped and motioned to the bartender to close his tab. The bartender brought a receipt to sign and Ohno quickly signed it.

“Hey, are there taxis outside?” he asked, handing the pen back to the bartender.

“Yeah, they’re all queued up since people are starting to head home. You should be able to get one relatively easily.”

“Thanks,” Ohno waved, stuffing his card into his wallet and following Jun outside. 

Jun had already hailed the cab and motioned for Ohno to hurry. Ohno gave his address and the driver began the meter in silence with some quiet radio as background music. Ohno’s heart was pounding in his ears. He had only planned until the club and had not thought beyond that. He did not dare look at Jun and Jun could sense his avoidance. They were about halfway home when he felt Jun’s fingers slide over his left thigh and then move ever so slowly towards his crotch. Ohno’s breath hitched and his eyes widened. His head was frozen but he moved his eyes so he could see Jun.

“Don’t…even,” Jun mouthed his warning, as his nails moved slowly across the fabric at a maddening pace for Ohno.

When Jun reached the edge of the bulge, Ohno closed his eyes whimpering silently as he bit down on his lip.

“Shhhh…” Jun whispered, bringing the index finger of his free hand to his lips.

Ohno could see their street in the distance. And then Jun curiously rubbed his hand over the bulge and then put his hand back into his lap.

_“Please touch me,”_ begged Ohno, mouthing to Jun in desperation.

Jun pretended to ignore him and simply stared ahead. They were down to the last 100 meters and Ohno was on the edge of his sanity. He began to shift uncomfortably and then Jun gripped his thigh and shot him a look that froze him.

“2,600 yen,” the driver called stopping the vehicle.

Ohno fumbled and found three 1,000 yen bills.

“Keep the change. Please open the door,” he said.

The driver obliged and Ohno yanked Jun out of the taxi, fumbling for the keys. It was early morning, easily after midnight and Ohno shoved Jun inside the house and suddenly hunched over with his hands on his knees, looking as if he were sick to the stomach or was having trouble breathing. Jun took off his heels and thought he might have really gone too far when Ohno turned around in their _genkan_ area and asked him point blank.

“Are you going to tease me tonight or will you let me have you?” Ohno’s low voice and almost unhinged expression chilled Jun to the core with excitement. Jun locked the front door and stepped into the house.

“You know I’m not really a woman, right?” Jun asked him soberingly in his regular voice. He stopped at the wall nearest the kitchen that would lead down the corridor deep into the house and removed the scarf to expose his Adam’s apple.

“I haven’t forgotten. I look at you every night in bed after you’re sleeping and know that you’re a _very_. _sexy_. man,” Ohno said, suddenly rushing forward and pinning Jun against the hallway wall. “You’re cute and beautiful dressed as my wife, but to me, Jun is Jun. I don’t know what game we’re playing but I’m so attracted to everything about you that I’m spilling all my deepest insecurities and feelings to you. And yes, damnit. You turn me on whether you’re a man or a woman. I want to be in you so badly, but only if you want me.”

“Let me take off my clothes and if you still want my body, you can have me,” Jun said, pushing Ohno off of him and walking to the bedroom.

Ohno banged the hallway wall with his fist in frustration and followed Jun to the bedroom. Jun had closed the drapes and had all the lights on, which was not Ohno’s favorite lighting to set the mood for late night sex. Jun had begun to unfasten the hook at the top of his dress and begun to unzip it the dress from the back. He let the dress pool at the floor and stood with his underwear, a pink matching set. He unhooked the back of the bra and turned to face Ohno who was standing a meter from him. Jun exhaled and pulled off the bra dropping it to the ground, exposing his very male chest. His own length was secured in the panties but looked to be somewhat aroused. He was about to pull down the last piece when Ohno stopped him.

“Ahh,” he groaned, which made Jun deflate, but not for long. “Can I please do it? I’ve been dreaming of this moment for weeks, so can I take it off?” Ohno asked, pointing to the last piece of clothing and closing the distance.

When Jun still seemed hesitant, Ohno undid his own belt and dropped his pants to show how turned on he was. “Look at this,” Ohno grunted. “In case there was any doubt in your mind, I really, really want you, Jun. Come here…”

Ohno pulled Jun closer to him so Jun could feel it against his body and lowered his voice into a whisper near Jun’s ear. “You’re a guy too, so you must know what it feels like to want someone this badly, right?”

Jun swallowed nervously as he felt every twitch and pulse aching against his leg.

“Jun,” Ohno slid his hands down to Jun’s hips and brushed his lips against Jun’s neck to the areas he knew that drove Jun mad with desire. “Can I have you? Please?”

“Satoshi-san…” Jun moaned, recalling how Ohno had made him feel on the dance floor sucking the flesh of his neck. With each kiss and whisper of dirty talk, Ohno broke down Jun’s resolve until Jun let out a whimper of defeat, “Please…no more…just take me…”

Jun melted into Ohno’s embrace and was on the wildest of rides as Ohno took him, causing Jun to scream Ohno’s name time and time again as his passionate lover ensured that he had experienced ecstasy multiple times before they passed out in each other’s' arms in a tangled heap.


	6. I Won't Let You Take Back Your Words (前言撤回はさせないぜ)

The next morning, Jun awoke with a splitting headache, his body aching, he was sticky, and things he really did not appreciate were stuck to him. He turned to see Ohno’s bare chest moving up and down as he snored softly with one arm hanging off the edge of the bed. He looked at the clock and saw it was nearly 9 in the morning. Their room was a mess of clothes. Ohno’s fancy clothes were on the floor and Jun blushed at their reminder of their romantic romp.

He peeled off the sheets and decided that he needed a bath first. He started the hot water and began showering, wincing as parts of his body reacted to the heat and soap. He was bruised in a lot of places and when he looked at his torso, there were lots of patches of pink, red, and purple skin. His back and behind hurt so he could not sit on the stool, but he still wanted to soak in a hot bath until he could figure out what he needed to address his headache.

Jun had been soaking in the tub for barely five minutes when Ohno barged in to Jun’s surprise naked and began showering. It did not appear that he registered that Jun was already in the tub until he had one leg half into the large bathing area and was face to face with Jun’s brown eyes.

“Uwaaahhhh!” he cried in surprise, losing his footing and crashing into Jun, displacing water everywhere. Jun was jostled about, but not hurt. He was more surprised that it took Ohno as long as it did to realize he was not alone. Ohno’s face was buried into his chest and when he regained his bearings he smiled goofily. “Oh, hello, my darling,” he kissed Jun on the cheek tenderly, and wrapped his arms affectionately around Jun.

“It’s your fault I’m sore,” Jun complained, back to his higher voice and feminine speech. “You almost drowned me, you oaf…”

“Where does it hurt?” Ohno asked.

Jun pointed to his chest and Ohno raised him so he could kiss each hickey.

“I’m guessing you remember all of last night?” Jun asked.

“Of course. I never forget what happens no matter how drunk I get,” Ohno replied self-assuredly.

“Then you meant every word?” Jun probed slowly.

“That I love you, you’re sexy and beautiful in every way, and I want you to be my wife forever?” the dark-skinned man said without shame.

Jun blew bubbles into the surface of the water as he was very embarrassed.

“Yes, I remember. I’m never letting you go and you better not try to leave me,” Ohno shifted in the water so they were more comfortable and he held Jun’s hand under the warm water.

“Satoshi-san?” Jun chewed at his lip.

“That’s not what you were screaming last night,” the fisherman chided with a raised eyebrow, earning a playful punch from Jun.

“Sa..toshi?” Jun offered.

“Try one more time?” Ohno kissed him as he leaned in to kiss Jun’s cheek.

“Satoshi,” Jun repeated more confidently.

“Yes, my love?”

“I want to be your wife for real too,” Jun admitted, squeezing Ohno’s hand back.

“Forever and ever?” Ohno asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Jun snorted at the reference to such childish language. “Forever and ever,” he rolled his eyes and then placed a kiss on Ohno’s cheek.

“Well, then. We better tell Agent Ninomiya,” laughed Ohno standing up. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Are you done soaking?” Jun frowned in disappointment.

“Yeah, I’m starving,” Ohno stretched his neck. “I could use some pancakes. Do we have the ingredients for that? What’s wrong?”

Jun smiled weakly. “Just a little tired from yesterday…”

“Oh…” Ohno replied, feeling guilty and proud at the same time with both emotions clearly dancing on his face.

“Don’t gloat; it’s crass,” Jun said with squinted slanted eyes, splashing water at him.

“Sorry…Do we have the ingredients?” Ohno laughed off the daggers.

“Milk, flour, eggs, sugar, yeah I think so,” Jun moved to try to stand up.

“I’ll make us breakfast,” Ohno pushed him down gently. “I can do pancakes so take your time getting ready. Alright? It’s my day off and I’m full of energy, so I’ll cook breakfast. Do we have sausages?”

“Yes, in the bottom drawer under the cheese,” Jun replied, floating to the surface.

“Alright, go relax. I’ll see you in a bit,” Ohno winked and left Jun to soak.

+

Jun started a load of laundry and came out into the kitchen to find that just as promised, Ohno had made them some fluffy soufflé pancakes with lots of fruit and whipped cream. He had fried up some _arabiki_ sausages and was taking the coffee to the table when Jun arrived.

“That bad, huh?” Ohno said proudly, staring at the largest scarf that Jun owned covering his neck.

“We’re not allowing anyone over here until these go away,” Jun glared back. “I need to buy good concealer so I can cover these up.”

“Of course. Have a seat, my love,” Ohno gestured.

“This looks really good, but also unhealthy,” Jun warned.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be back on kitchen duty in no time, so we can splurge on some calories today. I think we burned a ton last night, haha…here…” Ohno handed Jun a glass of water and held out two white tablets. “You have a hangover, don’t you? Take some aspirin.”

Jun nodded and did just that, finishing the water.

“I hope you still want pancakes though,” Ohno picked a blueberry and tossed it into his mouth.

“Of course, _itadakimasu_ ,” Jun smiled, eating Ohno’s home cooked breakfast.

+

After breakfast, Jun immediately wanted to clean the house.

“Denied,” Ohno said, shaking his head. “You did the laundry and that’s all you can do this morning. Rest your body or you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” Jun whined using his female voice and masculine speech to create the most amusing retort.

“How about modeling? I can sketch you today in my studio,” offered Ohno.

“But doesn’t that require patience and not moving?”

“We could choose a comfortable position for you.”

“I don’t want you to sketch me naked,” Jun warned.

“No nudes,” promised Ohno. “You can stay in your clothes. You could read a book if you want or just take a nap.”

“Okay,” Jun agreed.

Ohno opened up his studio and let Jun choose an activity so Jun decided to read his new book. Ohno brought a comfortable chair for him to sit on in the middle of the room and Ohno began to sketch. Whenever Jun shifted, Ohno simply started a new page and kept drawing vigorously adapting to whatever was in front of him. After 2 hours, Jun reached up to stretch and then remembered that he was supposed to be still.

“Satoshi, I’m so sorry. I forgot I was modeling and kept on moving…”

When Jun noticed that Ohno was not even paying attention, he walked over to where Ohno was sketching and saw that he was clearly sketching from memory. He was sketching Jun in his new dress. There was no background, but it showed him touching his scarf self-consciously, looking in another direction. 

There was no point in trying to reach Ohno at this point. Jun took a sticky note from the newly organized supply area and scribbled a note. He stuck it to the chair he was sitting in and walked out of Ohno’s studio to make lunch for them.

+

Ohno finished his obsession with drawing fancy dinner dress Jun after some unspecified time. He looked up and remembered that Jun was supposed to be modeling and was about to apologize when he saw the yellow sticky note.

[ _I made lunch for you. Come take a break when you’re at a good place. It’ll be in the fridge._ ♡ 絢 ♡ ]

He meandered into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and saw three mini sandwiches cut into triangles, egg salad, ham and cucumber, and tuna. Next to it, there was a cup of corn potage soup covered with some plastic wrap and with a note.

[ _I bet you want to mix this with some right, right?→_ ♡ 絢 ♡ ]

Ohno smiled that his wife had such attention to detail. Sure enough there was a small bowl of rice for him to heat up and mix with his soup. He began to munch on the sandwiches and he looked around for Jun. He saw Jun’s sock-covered toes peeking out from a blanket on the couch. He threw his corn soup and rice into the microwave and walked over to the couch. Jun was sleeping, his breathing steady and to Ohno, he looked like an angel. He lightly brushed the stray hairs from Jun’s face and simply stared at how beautifully proportionate each of Jun’s striking features were.

They had gotten drunk, but they were able to confess their feelings and now they were in a relationship for real. Ohno thought back to the previous night when Jun was in their bed, begging him and sobbing as he fell deeper into the throes of pleasure and could not help but smirk to himself. That little minx was such a tease, but it had been totally worth it. Ohno could not imagine spending his life with anyone else. Jun was perfect.

When he heard the microwave chirp, he grabbed his soup and rice and the plate with the sandwiches and brought them to the living room. He pulled a sketchbook from under the table and as he ate, he sketched Jun’s sleeping figure. Sleeping Jun was largely motionless and a much easier sketch than when he was moving. But just to capture each of the details and Jun’s symmetry was not. Ohno was determined to capture the light of his life on his canvas one day and he would not give up until he could capture Jun in his art to his satisfaction.

+

The next morning, Ohno woke up to the smells of more delicious food than usual. He saw Jun dressed in his purple fluffy top and some simple pants standing over the stove, hand in one pocket while he pushed something in a pan with the large cooking chopsticks.

“Morning, my love,” Ohno greeted, walking over to where Jun was and placing his arms around Jun’s waist, leaning in for a minty kiss.

“Morning, Satoshi,” Jun wrapped his arms around Ohno’s neck and touched the back of Ohno’s head at the edge of his hairline going into the nape of his neck, while he reciprocated a kiss.

“What’s for breakfast?” Ohno asked, breaking away, looking around to see more things out than usual.

“It’s on the table over there. I made you some grilled salmon and there’s some _ikura_ too—”

“Wow, _ikura_ for breakfast?” Ohno swept Jun in closer for another kiss to his cheek. “What’s the occasion? Or was it my impressive love-making and sexual prowess—”

“It was on sale, you idiot,” chided Jun, blushing in embarrassment. “Go eat your food.”

Ohno sat down to the table and realized that Jun was packing food, a lot of other food.

“What are you making?” Ohno asked between bites.

“I’m going with you to the dock today,” Jun replied, using the back of his arm to brush his bangs out of his face. “I made some refreshments for your coworkers. _Onigiri_ , chicken _karaage, tamagoyaki,_ octopus sausages, pickled cucumber _…_ The fruits looked good so I cut up some apples and grapes into bunches so they’re easy to eat—”

“Why are you going out of your way to cook for those morons?” Ohno asked with a pang of jealousy.

“Your boss treated us to dinner, right?” Jun reminded him. “I thought we should reciprocate, so I made some refreshments that you guys could take on the boat today. And there’s some here for the office and an individual bento for your boss here…”

“Fine,” grumbled Ohno, muttering into his food. “I guess they can taste your food for one day…”

“Are you mad?” Jun asked, covering the containers and placing them into bags.

“Of course not. You’re right,” sighed Ohno. “You’re _my_ wife, so I don’t want people eating your food except me!”

Now that the stove was off, Jun walked over to Ohno and forced his way into Ohno’s lap.

“You’re my Satoshi. This is just one day,” promised Jun, smoothing his unstyled flat hair and kissing him on the cheek while cradling his jaw with his hands. “You’re so adorable when you’re jealous.”

+

The pair headed towards the dock, each carrying a backpack. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with walking?” Ohno asked, holding Jun’s hand.

“Of course,” Jun smiled, snuggling next to him for a brief moment under the early morning street lights.

“It’s heavy and about a 20 minute walk normally,” he warned.

“That’s okay. I’m glad we can walk it together. I’m not going to break because I’m carrying a heavy backpack,” Jun smiled.

Jun leaned in to whisper in Ohno’s ear.

“I’m not actually a woman, remember?” he pointed out. “I can carry this…and take a whole lot more…”

Ohno blushed at the implication and nodded. They walked together, enjoying their time until they arrived at the small office where Ohno started his day. Ohno took a deep breath and held the door open for Jun.

“After you…”

As soon as Jun made an entrance the men immediately responded to him.

“Junka-san!” they rushed to greet him, taking the towels from their heads as if they were hats and they were acknowledging the presence of a lady.

“Good morning, everyone,” Jun waved with a dazzling smile that was too bright for Ohno. “I just wanted to bring you all some refreshments for today to thank you all for the other day. It was such a pleasure to meet you all and I thank you for taking care of my Satoshi.”

Ohno stared at the floor while the star bewitched his coworkers.

“This is for the office,” Jun unpacked some plastic containers. “Satoshi has some for the boat crew in his backpack. And this is for Kondo- _shachou_.”

Kondo heard the commotion and had just stepped out of his office, so Jun ran over to him with the neatly _furoshiki_ -wrapped bento.

“Good morning, Kondo- _shachou_ ,” smiled Jun. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to thank you personally for the wonderful dinner that Satoshi and I enjoyed. Here is a small token of my appreciation. I wanted to bring some refreshments for everyone so I hope that is okay.”

“You’re most welcome, Junka-san,” acknowledged the boss, accepting the bento from Jun.

“Satoshi,” hissed Jun, beckoning him between the commotion of the men opening the food.

Ohno shuffled to where they were standing.

“Thank you for treating us, Boss Man,” bowed Ohno.

“My pleasure, Ohno.”

“I’m going to head out now,” Jun smiled to Ohno, who nodded taciturnly.

Jun ignored his sullenness and simply placed a kiss on Ohno’s cheek. “I’ll be waiting for you at home. Have a great day, Satoshi,” Jun said affectionately, touching his arm.

“Go take a taxi home,” Ohno said reaching for his wallet.

“Don’t be so wasteful,” scolded Jun. “I can walk home. It’s cool right now and there’s hardly anyone out. I’ll be back before the sun comes up. See you later.”

Jun could see the entrance was blocked, but fortunately Kondo pointed to a side door, so Jun could slip out unnoticed.

+

Ohno had risen from grumpy cat to pet cat with the beautiful wife who could cook. As everyone marveled at Jun’s cooking, the morale was particularly high that day for Macchi Fishing Co.. Since his fellow boat crew had seen Ohno in a different light with Jun, instead of avoiding him, they dismissed his crotchety attitude and started to include him. Even Nakai seemed to be less antagonistic and more _senpai_ -like.

“Come here, Ohno,” Nakai said, handing him a line. “Come look at this…you see here, when you make…”

“Nakai-san acting like a _senpai_ ,” jeered Higashiyama, putting his arm over the both of them chummily.

“Shut up, Higashi,” swatted Nakai.

“You feel responsible to Ohno now that you met Junka-san,” Higashiyama needled. “You like Junka-san and don’t want to disappoint her…”

“Lay off, Higashi,” Nakai said through gritted teeth. “Ohno, take that rope over there and put it over that metal piece, yeah like that and…”

“Isn’t this nice? So nice to see you getting along together,” Higashiyama beamed, hanging off of Nakai’s shoulder.

“Ohno is my _kouhai_ , so I gotta do right by him and Junka-san,” Nakai mumbled out of earshot of Ohno.

“You’re such a twisted mofo. You should learn to be more honest with your feelings,” Higashiyama laughed heartily and walked away.

+

Jun paced nervously about the house. It was nearly 4:00 and he knew Ohno would be coming back any minute. He stared down at his left forearm, very bruised, but not broken or sprained and knew he would have to come clean about it. If he tried to hide it, he was sure Ohno would be livid when he found out.

“Stupid Jun,” he berated himself.

“ _Tadaima!_ ”

Jun winced as he heard Ohno opening the side door to the fishing room, washing himself down.

“Welcome home, Satoshi,” Jun hid his arms behind his back from the hallway as he watched Ohno hose himself down before entering the house.

Ohno came into the house and leaned in to give Jun a kiss. “I love this,” he smiled. “You sending me off with a kiss and me coming home to kiss you.”

When Jun flinched under the kiss, Ohno immediately noticed.

“What’s wrong? Why are you standing like that?”

“Um, maybe you should take a bath first?” Jun suggested.

Ohno paused. “Okay,” he slowly agreed, but you’re going to tell me what the hell happened when I come out.”

Jun nodded and Ohno disappeared into the bedroom, allowing Jun to breathe a sigh of relief. He nervously was sitting on the couch when Ohno came out, wearing just his pants and sat next to Jun, leaving about half a cushion between them.

“So?” he pressed.

“So I was walking back from the dock this morning when someone grabbed me,” Jun began.

“What the hell, Jun? Are you hurt?” Ohno exclaimed trying to look for signs of injury.

“I’m not hurt that bad, but it surprised me,” Jun rolled up his left sleeve to show a nasty set of bruises in the shape of a hand grip. “It was a drunk homeless guy, I think. He tried to grab me and I was surprised, so he had a strong grip. I screamed and whacked him in the face with my bag. He was surprised, so he let me go and I ran home.”

“Jun…” Ohno took his injured arm. “This is really bad…maybe we should take you to the hospital to have this looked at.”

“I’m fine, Satoshi,” Jun said. “It’s just a bruise, see?”

Jun showed him that his fingers still moved and that he still had mostly full range of motion. “It just hurts on the surface and in certain positions, but it’s fine. There’s not much they can do about it and you know how easily I bruise,” Jun smiled with a knowing look.

“You should have called the police,” Ohno scolded.

“I don’t want to be on record. Remember? I’m trying to lay low… If I reported it, my name would be in the police database. That’s also why I didn’t punch the guy even though I wanted to beat him for touching me. That…and he kissed me on my jaw over here…” Jun grimaced touching the jawline leading to his chin on his right side. “I feel so dirty, Satoshi,” Jun licked his lips and blinked several times. “I came back and took a bath and scrubbed myself down, but I still feel so icky. Am I dirty to you now?”

Ohno could see the insecurity in Jun’s eyes and features and so his expression softened.

“Not at all,” Ohno said, bringing the bruised flesh to his lips to kiss tenderly. “Does it feel better?”

“I think it needs more kisses,” Jun bemoaned pitifully, granting him even more fluttering kisses. “And here…”

Ohno kissed Jun’s jawline.

“More…” breathed Jun.

Ohno obliged and then diverted his attention to Jun’s neck as he began leaning into Jun. Jun responded by allowing himself to be pushed down onto his back onto the sofa. Ohno began to kiss Jun’s face and neck fervently to Jun’s delight as he writhed under Ohno’s touches.

“Satoshi…” he gasped, clinging to Ohno’s bare muscled arm with need.

Things were just heating up when the doorbell rang.

“Postal Service!” called a voice.

Ohno groaned and rolled off of Jun, who sat up and began to touch his lips to see if his lipstick had smeared and fix his hair self-consciously. Ohno grabbed his shirt off the living room chair and wiggled into it before answering the door.

“Postal Service delivery for registered mail for Ohno Junka? Is she here?”

“Jun?” Ohno called. “You gotta sign for this.”

Jun opened the drawer in the kitchen to get his seal and rushed to the door with a bow.

“I am Ohno Junka,” he accepted the form and stamped his seal onto the first copy.

“Thank you,” the man bowed. “Here you go.”

He handed Jun an envelope and took his leave.

“What’s that?” Ohno asked.

“I have no idea,” Jun replied, following Ohno back to the kitchen as he tore open the envelope.

Ohno went to make himself a glass of iced tea and Jun followed him.

“Agent Ninomiya was able to get clearance for me to get a driver’s license here,” Jun said in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah, this is the letter saying that I am approved to drive under my new identity and all I have to do is register at the town office.”

“That’s great. Maybe the next time I can get two days off in a row we can take a drive somewhere,” Ohno wrapped his arms around Jun’s waist.

“If Agent Ninomiya approves it,” warned Jun, pulling away.

Ohno groaned. He was grateful that Ninomiya brought him his wife but not happy that everything major concerning said wife had to go through him. It was times like this that he felt like he was also married to the agent.

“Satoshi, aren’t you hungry? I better start dinner,” Jun asked.

“I’m not hungry for that kind of thing,” Ohno protested, but was rudely shot down by the sound of his stomach growling.

Jun raised a carefully manicured arched eyebrow.

“Dinner first, lovey-dovey time later,” Jun decided effectively ending the conversation. “Where are the containers? I’ll need to wash them.”

“Oh, crap! I forgot them at the office,” Ohno slapped his forehead.

Jun glared at him and pursed his lips.

“I’m sorry…” Ohno apologized. “We did rinse them on the boat…and you’re not happy…Do you want me to go back to the office?”

“No,” Jun sighed. “You’d have to walk there and back, so just make sure you bring them back tomorrow. Please, Satoshi. I don’t want them to get too smelly.”

“I promise I’ll bring them back tomorrow.” Ohno promised with a kiss that made Jun smile as Ohno rocked him from side to side affectionately with his hands around Jun’s waist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Next chapter preview:**
> 
> _Agent Ninomiya checks back in with the Juntoshi couple and enter Aiba-sensei, the regional veterinary specialist and neighbor to Ohno, who is currently working from home due to a broken leg and is very curious to meet Ohno's new roommate._


	7. That's the One Thing I Couldn't Say (それだけは流石に言えなかった)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains sexually explicit content.

The next time Agent Ninomiya visited in person, it was a hot summer day in mid-August. Jun was sitting on the wooden porch on a cushion with his feet in one of Ohno’s large widemouthed tubs. He had the hose running water into it while he waited for the laundry to dry. It was a hot day and Jun had the fan also cooling himself off, after running a long extension cord from the bedroom.

“Hello,” a familiar voice greeted Jun from the garden. “The gate was open, so I let myself in…”

Jun looked up and saw Ninomiya in a blue jumpsuit uniform with a white towel wrapped around his head.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Agent?” Jun acknowledged. “I see you are enjoying your cosplay as usual.”

“It’s not cosplay. I’m here to see the veterinarian next door,” Ninomiya replied sassily.

“What are you supposed to be?” Jun asked, walking over to turn the faucet off.

“I am a zookeeper today. There’s a sick chinchilla that I just dropped off,” Ninomiya pointed to the neighboring house.

“Does the veterinarian work from home?” Jun asked puzzled.

“He broke his leg after he fell off a ladder in the monkey cage,” shrugged Ninomiya. “He’s been at home this past few weeks seeing patients from his house. The zoo told me to bring the chinchilla here and I thought I’d check on you while I was at it.”

“I didn’t realize there was a veterinarian living next door,” Jun hummed quietly, wiping his feet and walking over to the sliding door. “Would you like some iced coffee, Agent?”

“Sure,” Ninomiya nodded.

“You can take my cushion. I’ll bring some iced coffee for you.” Jun went into the house to fetch some refreshments and returned to find Ninomiya sitting on the porch. “Agent, you can sit on the cushion—”

“Nah, I’m good,” waved the agent dismissively.

Jun set down a large glass of iced coffee and a dish with two pieces of _youkan_ with chestnuts.

“We just got some good _youkan_ from a friend. Please have some.”

“ _Itadakimasu_.”

Jun sat on the cushion and let his feet cool in the clear water once again. “So what brings you here? We haven’t seen you in awhile,” Jun commented as they stared at Ohno’s fishpond.

“I’ve been busy with other…cases,” he said carefully. “There hasn’t been much movement on yours and not for lack of me trying. I hope you’re doing okay living here.”

“I love it,” Jun said blissfully, brushing his hair that had grown out considerably out of his face.

“That’s new,” Ninomiya mumbled.

“Oh, did Ohno-san buy you some technology?”

“What? No. Why? I told you I didn’t need that stuff,” Jun suddenly becoming defensive again, remembering their last face-to-face interaction.

“You mean you honestly haven’t tried to contact anyone from your past?” the agent pressed.

“No, why would I do that?” Jun said flatly. “You explicitly told me not to do that.”

“There’s no one you would want to contact?” Ninomiya asked curiously. “Friends, family, a former lover…? No one on social media?”

“No. I don’t use social media here and there’s no one from my past that is worth talking to that I would jeopardize what I have here.”

“Well, I guess safety and staying hidden are the most important things,” Ninomiya agreed.

Jun gave him an odd look, but said nothing,

“I really thought you’d be begging me to leave here,” the agent continued. “At least by now. You’d be wanting your old life, grumbling about this or that, saying how things were inconvenient in the country, how you hated rooming with this guy I forced you to room with—”

“Not at all, I’m super grateful to you, Agent,” Jun smiled, looking deceptively feminine. “I know you’re doing the best you can and I’m okay with things as they are.”

“Oh…” Ninomiya gave Jun a puzzled face.

“What’s wrong, Agent?”

“Nothing, you just seem happy,” frowned Ninomiya.

“I am happy,” Jun agreed.

“ _Too_ happy,” he clarified.

“I didn’t realize that part of all of this was supposed to make me miserable,” Jun said with a raised eyebrow with a tad more attitude than Ninomiya cared for.

“It’s not, but—look,” sighed the agent. “People get lonely. People start to get tempted. They miss their old lives, especially people your age, young people under the age of 35. You’re still in your 20s. They want to go back to the city. They need that one friend from their past. They become restless or depressed. The first few months are fine, but after that it starts to wear on them. All I’m saying is that you seem a little too happy for someone in our care.”

“Well, I have a good life,” shrugged Jun. “I like it here. It’s quiet. There’s good food and produce. Life is simple. I don’t mind being at home.”

“Not even as Ohno-san’s wife?”

“Well, ahem…that part’s actually the best part,” Jun fidgeted with the hem of his blouse looking rather embarrassed.

“Being the anti-social fisherman’s wife is the best part?” Ninomiya raised an eyebrow.

“ _Yes_ ,” Jun widened his eyes and stared back as if to tell the agent, ‘ _Don’t make me say it aloud, you idiot.’_

When Ninomiya did not follow, Jun curled his lips inward and took a deep breath.

“Especially the _wife_ part,” he whispered, gritting his teeth. “You know, the _wife part_!”

“You don’t look like it, but you must _really_ like domestic chores,” the agent drawled, turning to the sudden rumble of the thunder rolling in the distance.

Jun rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, bringing Ninomiya’s attention immediately back to him. Jun shifted his gaze back and forth.

“I really like being his _wife,_ ” Jun repeated with more emphasis on the final word. “The housework and cooking is fine, but the _wife_ part is the best. _Work. With. Me. Agent_. Stop squinting at me. I know you know what I’m talking about so stop playing dumb—”

“Junka-san, I have no idea what you’re getting at,” he thrust his hands out in frustration.

“Are you married, Agent?”

“That’s none of your business—”

Jun looked really fed up.

“No, I’m not. Came close a couple of times, but the job,” he admitted the agent, suddenly looking regretful.

“I’m the wifey,” Jun whispered loudly as if it were a secret.

“Yes, that’s the agreement,” Ninomiya nodded, whispering back to humor Jun. “You are Ohno-san’s wife.”

“In _all_ senses of the word,” Jun nodded, trying to get the agent to make the connection. “Yes, the _wife_ part is the _best_ part.” When that still failed to produce the look of understanding, Jun finally snapped at him. “Yes, he treats me really well. Yes, we get along really well despite having different personalities. Yes, he says my food is delicious and tells me I’m beautiful, but the thing I like most about being his wife is the mind-blowing sex, okay! There! I admit it. Thank you for making me say it aloud,” hissed Jun loudly.

“Oh…Well, that explains why you’re so damn happy,” he mumbled sourly.

“Did you not know?” Jun asked in bewilderment.

“No,” Ninomiya shook his head. “The last time I saw you guys, it just seemed like you guys were really bonding in this weird way. I didn’t want to have to relocate you, so I just figured it was just as well. You’d probably made a connection and it was a good thing. We should talk inside.”

“Oh…of course,” Jun remembered his place and picked up everything to put on the tray. He stood up and saw Ohno staring from the bedroom sliding door. “Satoshi…”

“Whoops…uh, hello?” he smiled guiltily. 

“How long have you been lurking there?” Jun rushed over to him.

“Awhile…” Ohno admitted. “The gate was locked, so I had to come through the house.”

“Go back inside, we have to talk to Agent Ninomiya. We’ll discuss _this_ later,” Jun said, heading into the kitchen. Ohno groaned and stepped aside to let the agent into the house.

“You are so whipped,” Ninomiya shook his head, entering the house.

Jun made some iced coffee for everyone and brought out new refreshments. He placed a plate with a slice of pretty _kanten_ mousse onto a plate. It had pale white mousse on the bottom, layers of fruit covered in a clear _kanten_ layer of gelatin. Ohno looked on sending beams of hope towards Jun that he would also receive a slice from the chilled glass pan. When Jun cut a second slice, Ohno held his breath from the dining table. Jun did not cut a third, but he did put some wrapped madeleines in a basket lined with a tea towel. When he brought everything to the table, he served the agent first with his coffee, _kanten_ mousse and a tiny dessert fork. Then he placed the coffees in front of Ohno and at his place, the basket in the middle of the table and finally the plate of mousse in front of Ohno.

“Oh, thank you, my love!” Ohno bowed gratefully as if heaven had bestowed upon him the ultimate gift. He immediately leaned over and kissed Jun on the cheek before digging into the highlight of his day.

“This isn’t over, Satoshi,” Jun adjusted the scarf on his neck.

“I know, but this is really good,” Ohno said stuffing more fruit into his happy pie hole.

“Do you even know why I’m mad?”

“Because I was eavesdropping while you were talking to Agent Ninomiya?” Ohno started to cough as he ate too fast.

“No,” Jun hit his back to help him along until he stopped coughing. “Because you said you were going to tell him about us and you didn’t!”

“Oh…oops…thanks,” Ohno coughed one last time and bowed his head in recognition. “I’m so sorry, Jun. I dropped the ball on that. I really meant to call him, but I forgot.”

“Satoshi, this was really important,” Jun nagged. “This constitutes something material in the change of our living situation and you were supposed to report it to Agent Ninomiya months ago! There’s no rule that says we can’t be together, but we have to disclose these kinds of things.”

“I’m sorry, Jun. I don’t know what else to tell you. It really slipped my mind. I was just so happy to be with you…I’m sorry. I promise to be better.” Ohno rubbed Jun’s arm lovingly until the feminine man huffed and eventually let his anger go. “Forgive me?” Ohno said, pouting his lips.

“Fine,” Jun kissed him quickly, and turned to face the agent.

Ninomiya was shocked that Jun had read through the contract. There was no mistaking it now that the players had assembled. Ohno and Jun were completely in love with each other.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Agent,” sighed Jun. “I really thought that Satoshi told you about us and that you were purposely trying to get my goat earlier. I apologize if I was out of line.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was my fault for being so clueless about what you were trying to tell me.”

Jun started to redden at the ears and flush. “Anyway,” Jun said, trying to regain his composure. “The story is that we’re actually together now. Satoshi has asked me to be his wife for real. I don’t want to leave here and I’m not tempted by my past because I love Satoshi and our life. That is why I’m happy and that’s the truth.”

Ninomiya looked over at Ohno with his beady eyes. “What have you got to say for yourself?”

“I am very sorry that I did not come to you earlier. I was wrong, Agent. You have my humblest apologies,” Ohno apologized, bowing deeply. “Jun is the most important person in my life. At first, I thought I’d just do my civic duty to let him live here and get maybe a few thousand yen left over each month to maybe buy a new paint brushes or a case of beer at the end of every month. But from the first day after you left, I felt something for Jun. It wasn’t like anything I ever felt before. I never really bonded with other people, certainly not adults, before and my interpersonal relationships were always very broken. That’s why I like fishing and art. I can do those things without much contact with other people. Those had always held more meaning to me than people around me.

I hated living in Tokyo. It was so busy and stressful, but when I came here there were less things stimulating my senses, but I realize now that I was still pretty miserable and lonelier than ever. And then you brought Jun into my life and I felt a spark the first day I met him. There was something about him that made me want to draw and paint, something that made me want to share my innermost feelings even thought I never experienced such a desire before. There was something that made me feel tingly and hot but something that also calmed me and centered me. I don’t think I’ve been in love before so I have nothing to compare it to, but I always want to touch and be with Jun. I want to shower him with affection and I want him to love me back. I know that he’s not a woman and as a couple, it doesn’t really change anything for me. Junka might be his identity but Jun is just Jun for me. I love him unconditionally and I want him to be that special person for the rest of our lives. Please…don’t take him away from me.”

Ohno found himself weeping towards the end of his piece, which caused Jun to start tearing up.“I’m sorry, when I get like this, I just can’t stop,” shuddered Ohno, blinking as the tears streamed down his face. “It’s like…the dam of my emotions…just breaks loose…”

Jun pulled Ohno into his embrace and for a brief moment, Ninomiya saw a masculine side to Jun radiating from under his guise as Junka. The way he drew Ohno close to his chest and touched the smaller man’s head reassuringly, the soft kisses that Jun placed on Ohno’s head and the way he whispered and Ohno nodded, there was something protective about Jun. And then just as abruptly as the tears had come, Ohno sat up and was back to his composed self, wiping his remaining tears away with his sleeves just as Ninomiya’s check-in visit was about to be interrupted yet again.

“Nino! Nino!” a voice from outside shouted, ringing the doorbell a bunch of times. “Are you there?”

Ninomiya put his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Excuse me,” he sighed, walking to the front entrance.

Jun followed him curiously, lagging behind.

“I’m working,” Ninomiya yelled opening the door.

“The chinchilla is good to go!” the cheerful voice shouted. 

“I’m working! Why are you here?” Ninomiya growled.

“I thought you’d like to know about the chinchilla!”

“Send a message to my phone next time. Do you even know the people that live here?” Ninomiya reprimanded the man at the door.

“No, I was hoping to get a good looksie at them since I haven’t really met him—hello?”

Jun could see a man on crutches at the door. “Would you like to come in?” Jun offered.

“Don’t let him—” Ninomiya interjected.

“Hello! I’m Aiba Masaki, sorry to drop by here unannounced! I’m your neighbor!”

“Please come in,” Jun said gesturing to the kitchen.

The man named Aiba struggled a bit and then managed to get himself into the house. He wore a white coat and a tie that had koala faces on it. His hair was dyed brown and styled to frame his face in an angled short bob. Ohno saw Jun looking at him just a little too long for his comfort so he poked him in the side.

“Go get him something to drink, Jun,” he urged.

“Please have a seat, I’ll bring you some refreshments,” Jun said quickly.

Ohno helped the man on crutches to his seat and carefully laid the supports on the floor near his foot. Jun returned with a pitcher of iced coffee and a plate of _kanten_ mousse for their guest.

“I told you to wait until I came back,” Ninomiya scolded, as Jun topped them all off with coffee.

“Wow, look at this dessert! I love sweets! Did you make this yourself?” Aiba marveled excitedly, already eager to partake in the refreshments.

“Yes,” Jun replied shyly sitting down.

“Introduce yourself properly, you idiot,” Ninomiya smacked the man on the shoulder.

“Whoops!” Aiba said putting down the plate. “My name is Aiba Masaki! I’m 31 years old and one of the veterinarians in the area! So sorry to drop by unannounced, but Nino here was in the area and I got tired of waiting…and I also was very curious to meet my neighbors and yeah! Good to meet you!”

“I’m Ohno Satoshi,” bowed Ohno. “I’m a fisherman here. This is my wife, Junka.”

“I’m Ohno Junka. It’s nice to meet you,” Jun bowed graciously.

“Wow,” Aiba sighed. “Your wife is very pretty. Are you a model, Junka-san?”

“You flatter me,” giggled Jun, watching as Aiba took the first bite of his dessert.

“ _Itadakima—su!_ ” Aiba said and took a big bite. His face immediately turned to one of pure childish joy. “This is so delicious! And your wife is a good cook! You must be in heaven every day!”

“Thank you, Aiba-sensei,” Jun acknowledged humbly. “I’m glad it suits your tastes.” Jun winced as he felt Ohno’s hand possessively touch his thigh from under the table.

“Nino, did you have this cake too?” Aiba turned to the agent, which made it clear that they were on very friendly terms.

“Is that your nickname?” Jun asked.

“I’ve known Nino since we were kids,” laughed Aiba. “He’s so serious now because he’s a Super Secret Agent—”

“ _Supervisory Special_ Agent,” the three of them corrected him in unison and then laughed at the moment of synchronization.

“There he goes, Professor Careless-With-The-Japanese-Language,” Ninomiya rolled his eyes. “He acts like this, but he’s actually the regional specialist for animal care, having trained under the late Shimura-sensei since he was in high school.”

“Well, before Nino became Special Supervisory Agent—”

“Supervisory _Special_ Agent!” the three said in exasperation.

“Just say, ‘SSA’,” Nino interjected.

“He was a little neighborhood kid that did magic tricks all day long,” Aiba ignored the suggestion, telling Jun his story.

“Agent Ninomiya likes magic?” Jun taunted with a grin on his face as Ninomiya looked away in embarrassment. “You don’t say…”

“Oh, he _loves_ it. That’s why he likes to cosplay too,” Aiba divulged with glee.

“I _knew_ you were cosplaying!” Jun accused.

“It’s called being undercover!” Ninomiya shot back defensively.

“I want to call you, ‘Nino’ too,” Jun pouted impulsively. “Agent Ninomiya is so formal. Nino is cute.”

Ninomiya thought about this for a moment and then nodded. “Fine, since you make a good cup of coffee and you always have snacks for me,” he agreed.

“You must like Junka-san’s coffee quite a lot for you to let her get away with calling you ‘Nino’,” commented Aiba innocently. ‘Nino’ shot him a look which fell on blind eyes.

“Aiba-sensei,” Jun interrupted. “You said you were curious to know who lived here.”

“Yeah, I broke my leg so I’ve been working from home these past few weeks. I knew that Ohno-san lived here, but we’d never really spoken.” Aiba paused and thought about his interaction. “He has an early start and is out before I’m even awake and I sometimes work odd hours depending on my rotation, so we hardly saw each other. Sometimes I’d see him feeding his koi fish or cleaning his gear outside, but he’s been really quiet since he moved to the area. Well, the house has been quiet until a few months ago. I heard another person moving about, but I never saw anyone. Sometimes I heard a female voice and I just assumed that Ohno-san had a female caller, but I never imagined that he had a pretty wife like this.”

“Jun just came to live with me recently,” Ohno explained, giving Jun a small smile. “We got married over a year ago, but she had to finish her work in Tokyo before coming here.”

“You’re from Tokyo too? I’m actually from Chiba, but I commuted to a school in Tokyo. Nino and I are the Sobu Line Brothers!” Aiba chirped with a wide grin and looked around the living room. “Gee, for newlyweds, you guys sure don’t have a lot that chronicles your life together,” commented the animal doctor.

“Excuse me?” Ohno said.

“You know, like photos and stuff. Don’t couples usually like to put stuff up for people to look at?” Aiba pointed out.

“Oh, we lost those things in the fire,” Jun said quietly.

Aiba immediately winced as he felt the figurative foot shove into his mouth.

“Satoshi was living here and we were trying to save money so I was living in an area with some low-rise apartments while I was working in Tokyo. One night, there was a fire that spread to the units while I was working late and everything went up in flames. We didn’t really have a whole lot to begin with, but we lost pretty much everything that night.”

“I’m sorry for asking, Junka-san,” bawled Aiba, crying for the couple.

“It’s okay, Aiba-sensei. It was a fair question,” smiled Jun graciously as he handed Aiba the tissue box from the kitchen counter. “You didn’t know. I guess we need to make more memories here, Satoshi.” Jun winked and Ohno slid into his chair bashfully.

 _Matsumoto Jun was a force to be reckoned with._ Thought Nino as he watched Jun artfully bend the situation to his will. He gave an entirely plausible reason with just enough details to placate the other person while conveying a sense of sensitivity and trauma so that the other person would not think to ask too much more. Nino looked on as Jun seemed to bond with Aiba, glad to have someone to talk to that the agent approved.

“Junka-san, do you like animals?” Aiba asked, changing the topic abruptly.

“Umm, they don’t usually like me very much,” Jun admitted. “But I do like animals.”

“You should come by my house if you’re ever bored!” Aiba invited. “I’m working from home at least until this leg heals and if you’re ever lonely, you should come hang out with the animals and me! We can always use a human friend.”

“Really?” Jun looked rather happy. “I’d love—” And then he immediately turned to Ohno. “Satoshi, can I go and visit Aiba-sensei and the animals?”

Ohno wanted to deny Jun on the account that he was feeling jealous of the connection that Jun and Aiba seemed to be forming right under his nose. But seeing Jun’s wide eyes staring at him seeking permission innocently, Ohno did not have the heart to deny Jun, not when Jun asked for so little from him.

“Of course you can,” Ohno said with a pat to Jun’s hand.

“Yay!” Aiba cheered. “Here’s my business card,” he said taking out a pen and writing a phone number out. “And this is the number to the house and my mobile number.”

“I don’t have a mobile phone, but thank you,” Jun smiled. “I’ll be sure to call you from the house phone before coming.”

“No need to call,” Aiba waved. “Just come over anytime!”

Jun felt Ohno’s hand grip his thigh anxiously again, the muscle twitch that did not escape the eagle eyes of Nino.

“Don’t you have to be getting back to work soon, Aiba-sensei?” Nino interrupted. “It’s nearly 5:00 and don’t you need to feed the animals?”

“Oh, you’re right!” Aiba glanced around for the clock. “I should be heading out. It was nice meeting the two of you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Jun bowed with Ohno who nodded in unison. “Thank you for joining us today and I am glad to have a friend in this town. The only people I really see are my husband and the people at the supermarket. I haven’t really been able to make friends as I’m rather shy.”

“You are welcome to visit me anytime!” Aiba saluted, reaching for his crutches and trying to stand up. Jun rushed over to help him to Ohno’s quiet annoyance.

“Easy does it,” Jun said, allowing Aiba to lean on him.

“Junka-san, you’re surprisingly strong for a woman. I feel bad making you help me,” Aiba grinned bashfully with a slightly lecherous smile as he inhaled Jun’s perfume, leaning his weight into Jun.

“Yes, this does seem like something that Ohno-san could be doing…” Nino observed watching the interaction unfold.

Ever always so oblivious, Aiba looked up at Nino. “Are you coming to get the chinchilla?” Aiba asked, as Jun helped him to his feet.

“Yeah, in a minute,” Nino dismissed Aiba. “Go back to your place, I’ll be there in a bit. I just need to talk to Ohno-san privately and I’ll be right over.”

“I’ll walk you over,” Jun smiled, handing Aiba his crutches, and ushering him to the door.

Once they had left, Nino looked over at Ohno as he crossed his arms.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s not going to cheat on you,” Nino said matter-of-factly. “He’s in love with you and Aiba-sensei is just a social contact for now. Just make sure you keep him happy so he doesn’t get tempted to contact anyone from his past. It’s really important that you do this, for both of your sakes.”

The agent tipped his hat and excused himself, leaving Ohno in the middle of the kitchen. Jun had just about returned when Nino was leaving.

“Oh, are you leaving already?” Jun asked, brushing his bangs from his face as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

“Yeah, gotta go get the chinchilla,” Nino waved. “Take care, Junka-san.”

“Always a pleasure,” Jun waved back seeing Nino leave through the front door. “Satoshi?”

Jun saw a sock on the living room floor and walked over to pick it up. Suddenly he felt the wind knocked out of him momentarily when something ran into him with quite a force. Losing his balance, Jun stumbled as if he were drunk towards his right side and landed on the couch where he saw Ohno looking down at him emitting a rather formidable dark aura.

“Satoshi? What’s wrong?” Jun probed nervously, trying to straighten his body to a more comfortable position. Ohno lowered his body next to Jun’s torso to restrict his movement, setting his arm down to pin Jun into the cushions.

“You were looking way too much at Aiba-sensei,” Ohno said in a low accusatory grunt. “I…am very…” Jun took in a sharp breath, his heart rate increasing in the anticipation for what was to come next. “ _very…jealous,_ ” Ohno whispered breathily before placing his dessert-laden lips to Jun’s and taking one hand to Jun’s cheeks to part them slightly. The moment Jun’s lips gave way to entrance Ohno began to slip his tongue into Jun’s mouth, kissing him with demanding, relentless passion and need. Jun felt Ohno’s rough hand slip under his blouse and under towards the dip in his lower back.

Jun shuddered as Ohno’s fingers breached the elastic delicate waistband of his black lacy panties. “S-S-Satoshi?” he stammered, unable to move and unsure of what to do given the situation since this was the first time Ohno had ever displayed such behavior.

“I don’t want you looking at other guys,” Ohno whispered, licking Jun’s ear as he kissed and teased Jun’s jawline and neck.

“Ah, I wasn’t, ah—” Jun panted as Ohno bestowed a barrage of oral stimulation to his exposed skin. “I wasn’t looking at him…ahhhh…like that…”

Jun was largely pinned under Ohno, but he took the opportunity to shift the power balance by reaching for Ohno’s crotch cupping the older man’s groin and giving it a forceful rub through the fabric. “Aiba-sensei isn’t my type…” Jun massaged Ohno’s groin for a bit and then placed his hand over the zipper. “I only want _you_ , Satoshi. Let me have you…ooh, look at how big you already are…tell me where you want to come today…in my mouth? On my face? How about deep inside me?”

Ohno swelled in Jun’s hand at the proposition and a look of triumph crossed over Jun’s face as he bit down on his lower lip with a smile.

“Take off your clothes first,” Ohno ordered, pulling away slightly to give Jun some space.

Jun gave a self-satisfied smirk and crossed his arms in front of his body to pull off his top first. When he pulled it over his head, the blouse also caught on the cloth hair tie, pulling it out of its secure position and causing his grown out hair to cascade at his shoulders. Ohno licked his lips hungrily as he watched Jun unzip his skirt and set it aside so that his wife was only in his black lacy underwear set.

“You wanna touch me like this?” Jun tempted Ohno as he sat on Ohno’s lap his own length filling the ebony lacy bit of fabric in charge of holding his most intimate parts while he fondled the left side of his chest through the matching bra. Ohno’s hands went straight to Jun’s chest and he gave both female fake protrusions a squeeze before reaching behind and undoing the clasp.

As soon as the clasp gave way, Jun let out a sigh of pleasure at the freedom of having his full breathing capacity. Ohno tossed the bra aside and immediately began targeting Jun’s already hardening nipples, pinching and rubbing at them as Jun moaned, throwing his head back when Ohno’s warm mouth began to lap and suck at them. “Satoshi…where are you going to come?” Jun whined, gyrating on Ohno’s lap sensually as Ohno worked his magic on Jun’s upper body. “I want you now…Satoshi, please…”

By this point, Jun had worked Ohno’s pants down to his thighs and was now stroking Ohno’s stiff erection oozing with precome with his soft self-manicured hand. Ohno was about to reach for his lotion on the coffee table when Jun stopped him.

“No, I don’t like that lotion,” Jun complained. “Use the lube if you’re gonna put it in me.”

“It’s all the way in the bedroom,” Ohno protested in irritation from the sexual frustration of not yet having had his release, but unwilling to follow Jun to the bedroom.

“It’ll just be a sec,” Jun slid off and ran to the bedroom while Ohno rolled his eyes with a frustrated sigh, leaning back with his arms around the cushions of the sofa. “Take off the rest of your clothes!” Jun called.

Ohno lazily slid his pants and underwear off and while he was waiting for Jun, he began to stroke himself smirking when he thought of how sexy Jun was wearing just the bottoms of his underwear, his butt peeking out of the panties that cut into his round bottom and supple pale thighs.

“Hey!” Jun pounced onto the sofa with the tube of lubricant in his hand. “No fair getting ahead without me!” Jun forced Ohno’s full attention onto him by taking Ohno’s free hand and placing it over the front of his own needy groin. “You can take them off…I know this is your favorite part,” Jun whispered huskily. “The panties…they really turn you on when they’re coming off, don’t they?”

Pushing Jun into the sofa so he was lying down face up, Ohno was salivating as he tugged at the sexy underwear so that Jun’s hardened length strained against the fabric to be fully erect. As he pulled the sheer fabric down, Jun let out a moan before his erection popped out of his underwear with a quiet snap, twitching twice before bobbing up and down now free from its lacy prison.

“Put it in me….please?” Jun begged, offering the lubricant to Ohno, who wasted no time slicking his fingers up and thrusting up into Jun to prepare him before switching to his engorged cock. The second Ohno penetrated the entrance, Jun groaned and gasped, tightening as Ohno pushed himself further and deeper. “Mmmm, Satoshi, give me it all…” Jun encouraged with a high pitched whine and Ohno willingly obliged to a slow and steady rocking rhythm that gradually increased in tempo and power while each deep and dirty kiss between them brought them closer to completion.

“Say it…” Ohno bit Jun’s lip as he slowed to just hitting Jun’s prostate at a maddeningly disciplined rate.

“Ahh…say, ah…what?” Jun choked out, shivering as he could barely keep his eyes open from the blinding pleasure he felt when Ohno hit his prostate at just the right angle.

“Say it…” Ohno withdrew and held his position, making sure Jun knew that he was not going to move any further until Jun did as he asked. “Say it or I won’t let you come…”

Jun took a few shallow breaths hoping to stabilize the woozy feeling of approaching his peak. _“Sa…Satoshi,”_ Jun grunted in his normal masculine voice, showing his vulnerability and commitment, intertwining his fingers with Ohno’s in a gesture of increased intimacy. _“I love you.”_ Pant. _“I’m yours.”_ Pant. Pant. _“Forever and ever…”_ Jun’s eyes were glazed over as he gave one final look to implore Ohno.

“Jun…” Ohno kissed his young wife on the lips. Finally satisfied, he resumed an accelerated pace, filling Jun with a rush of hot pulses of thick come as Jun came in an equally explosive mess between them. “I love you, Jun…Please don’t leave me for Aiba-sensei,” Ohno mumbled as he collapsed in exhaustion, his cock now flaccid and slipping out as he fell asleep on top of Jun.

 _Why would I leave you for the neighborhood veterinarian?_ Jun shook his head in bewilderment, stroking Ohno’s back as he closed his eyes. _You’re the one that means the world to me._

+

“You don’t wanna come in?” Aiba asked, hobbling into the front door and wheeling out the chinchilla in his carrier on a metal dolly.

“No, I should go,” Nino bent down to pick up the cage. When he did, Aiba’s lips were waiting for him on his way up and gave the agent a soft kiss as Nino stood up.

“Are you sure you can’t stay just a bit?” Aiba pleaded. “You hardly come to see me…”

“I’m on the clock,” Nino kissed Aiba on the cheek with a tender smile, still holding the cage in resolution. “I’ll be back soon just for you.”

“Nino…” Aiba called as Nino was about to leave.

“Hmmm?” Nino looked back.

“Uhhh, never mind. It’s nothing,” Aiba slipped his cheerful mask on his face, waving Nino off. “I’ll see you soon.”

+

_Later that evening at Aiba’s house…_

“I heard from Nino that you met the neighbors. What are they like?” Sho sipped his coffee as he looked at Aiba curled up on the couch with a white ferret named Lily that he was currently taking care of for a friend.

“Yeah, they’re nice. Ohno-san you’ve seen before, right?” Aiba replied, scratching Lily’s head and reaching for Lily’s toys in the basket on the floor.

“He’s that fisherman with no personality, right?” Sho confirmed.

“He’s shy. The other person living with him is his wife, Junka. You should meet her. She’s really stunning.”

Sho raised an eyebrow at Aiba who was now rolling a ball across the floor for Lily to chase around. “Unusual for you to comment about someone’s beauty, Masaki. And what does her being beautiful have anything to do with me meeting her?”

“Sho-chan, if you saw her, you’d know what I mean,” Aiba pointed as he wrestled the ball away from Lily and threw it down the hall. “She’s very beautiful, like a 10. I can see why Ohno-san is always having sex with her.”

“Masaki, will you lay off that?” Sho said looking uncomfortable as he watched Lily scamper down the hardwood floors after the mini fleece-covered soccer ball.

“I can’t help it, Sho-chan! They’re always doing it! I can hear it when they forget to close their bathroom door!” Aiba sat up to join Sho at the table and stared Sho down in conviction. “I saw what their house looked like today when I went to the bathroom. They have this huge bed in their bedroom and there’s a hallway that takes you down to the bathroom or maybe a bathing area. There’s a high window so we can’t see into their house.”

“Because that would be creepy and inappropriate,” Sho reminded his veterinarian roommate.

“But if the door is open, we can hear the sounds…” Aiba complained.

“Why don’t you tell them?” Sho set his cup down in exasperation.

“I can’t tell them that!” Aiba shook his head back and forth. “What am I supposed to say? Ohno-san, I just wanted to let you know that I can sometimes hear you and your wife having passionate love-making sessions and I think it’s because your bathroom door is open and it faces my living room??”

“You can be a little more subtle—” began Sho, before an erotic moan filled the otherwise quiet airspace of their living room.

_“Ahhhhhhhhnnnnnnn! More! More!”_

_“Turn…over…!”_

_“Nooooo, bang me from the baaaaaack! I like it from the back! You already did it from the front today. Please, Satoshi! Ah! Deeper…harder….So good, I’m…oh god…Satoshiiiiiii!”_

Aiba jerked his head towards the source of the sound. “This is what I hear ALL THE TIME, Sho-chan. Sometimes during the day…And they don’t just do it once. Sometimes they keep going for multiple—”

“Please don’t elaborate,” begged Sho.

“What? You don’t want me to say it?” Aiba smirked with a Cheshire grin, gaining some entertainment value from tormenting Sho who looked extremely uncomfortable. “Or are you getting turned on? Want me to help you with—”

“No!” Sho held his hand out. “You have Nino. Stop trying to turn your little casual off-and-on thing with him into a threesome with me!”

“We are very open!” teased Aiba. “Currently taking new members! We are super versatile! If you wanna be on top, I’m sure Nino wouldn’t mind letting you be on top. Of course if you’d rather be on the bottom, I will very happily—”

Sho threw his crumpled napkin at Aiba who dodged it, scooped up the ferret and hopped onto the couch on one foot with a triumphant grin and a clumsy flop.

“But seriously, Sho-chan,” Aiba said seriously. “You need to see this Junka-san. If you met her, you’d never expect that she’d be so vocal and freaky in bed.”

“MASAKI!” roared Sho, running over to tickle Aiba into submission while Lily darted out of the way just in the nick of time.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll stop!” laughed Aiba uncontrollably. “Sho-chan! Sho-chan! Ahahahahahaha! Stop! I give! Ahhh! My leg is cramping!”

When Aiba stopped laughing, Sho looked at him and asked him a serious question, “Do you think she’s in witness protection?”

“Who, Junka-san?” Aiba looked up thoughtfully.

“Yeah, she kind of suddenly appeared out of nowhere,” Sho commented.

“Ohno-san said that she was working in Tokyo to finish out her work contract before moving here,” Aiba shrugged. “But she also knew that Nino was an agent. Hmm, maybe Ohno-san is the one in witness protection. He’s really reclusive and hardly talks to anyone, so maybe it’s him that’s in witness protection.”

“Or…maybe they just know Nino from something else,” Sho offered, sitting on the couch next to Aiba. “Maybe Ohno-san has hosted someone before and Nino was just giving him an update.”

“Hmm…maybe…” agreed Aiba, knowing that was also a possibility given that Nino came to them with updates about people they have hosted. “Sho-chan?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you miss them?” Aiba asked, leaning into Sho’s shoulder.

“Who?” Sho asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Your family,” Aiba looked down, suddenly finding the carpet to be of interest. “You haven’t seen them since you were in elementary school and the Sakurai family took you in.”

“Actually, the older I get, the less I remember of them…” Sho admitted, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. “I was 8 and I don’t have any photos of them or myself from that time.”

“You don’t get the urge to you know…?” Aiba shrugged helplessly.

“Urge to what?” Sho bent down to pick up the white ferret who had made her way back to them. He placed Lily between them and gave her a few pets and a smile.

“To call them, look them up, find them, see how they’re doing…” Aiba wrung his arms.

“Oh god, no!” Sho shook his head vehemently. “Nino would kill me if I did that. Geez, how could you even suggest that!”

“I’m sorry, Sho-chan. I guess I always wonder what it’s like…”

“No, I don’t get tempted to try to find them,” Sho added firmly with conviction. “I know that if I try to find them, I could put everyone I know in danger not just me. Not to mention Nino would have to relocate me. You and I, we’d never see each other again, you know…”

“Oh right…” Aiba acknowledged. “What was your birth name again?”

“Hino Wataru (氷野 渉). But today if you called me ‘Hino-san’ or ‘Wataru’, I don’t think I’d turn around. Sakurai Sho suits me fine. And well, to be perfectly honest, I’ve lived most of my life as Sakurai Sho, so I don’t feel particularly attached to my old name and identity any more—”

_Knock knock KNOCK!_

“Are you expecting someone?” Sho asked. Aiba shook his head, so Sho stood up to answer the door.

“Sho-chan, who is it?” Aiba called.

“Hey! Are you alright?” Sho asked in a hushed voice but Aiba heard and was stumbling forward to the front door with his crutches.

The young veterinarian paled when saw Sho gripping an all too familiar friend who was bleeding onto the laminate flooring from his arm. “Nino!” Aiba exclaimed. “Oh god, are you alright?! Nino!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And...it's another cliffhanger! Just as everyone's finally here in the same chapter?! Emotional, possessive Ohno, sexy wife Jun, casual NinoAi, and Sho with the mysterious/not-so-mysterious past also joining the party. More to come...


	8. The Lost Cat (行方不明の愛猫)

Nino had been escorted to the operating table of Aiba’s makeshift clinic in the basement of the house. Formerly the house of Shimura Ken, Aiba’s former mentor and renowned veterinary specialist, the house had an elevator that ran thorough the second and main floors of the house all the way to the two soundproof floors built underground for operations and other veterinary work.

“Nino, hold still. I’m going to cut your sleeve off,” Aiba said, taking his sheers to Nino’s long-sleeved shirt that seemed to be drying in parts onto Nino’s arm. “What happened?”

“I liked this shirt,” Nino mumbled as he heard the fabric being cut and ripped away.

“Nino,” Sho prompted. “What the hell happened to your arm?”

“I got stabbed when I was confronting an unsub in Kinsei-machi,” Nino winced as Aiba began to disinfect the gash to the agent’s right bicep.

“Looks worse than it is,” Aiba said behind his face shield as he began to inspect the damage. “You were really lucky you didn’t nick something major or you would have bled out before you could drive here all the way from Kinsei-machi. Sho-chan, can you pass me my cart over there?”

“What happened to the guy?” Sho asked, pushing the cart towards Aiba and handing the tray to Aiba with gloved hands.

“He and his buddies ran off when they heard cop sirens. Ahh!” Nino winced as Aiba gripped and squeezed at his arm checking for other signs of damage.

“Ah, so you didn’t even get them,” Sho pointed out flatly which made Nino glare back at him defensively with balled fists.

“Sho-chan, don’t rile him up; you know how agitated he gets. Stop moving, Nino,” Aiba said. “You want me to anesthetize you?”

“Local, only if you need to,” Nino gritted his teeth.

“I meant, keep moving around and I’m going to tranq you like one of my patients!” Aiba threatened. “I now keep stuff for humans not just animals.”

Nino sighed and relaxed under Aiba’s care while he called to Sho. “Sho-kun.”

“Yeah?” Sho looked up as he dumped the mountain of bloody gauze on the tray he was holding into the trash bin.

“I need you to run a story,” Nino said reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out a small slip of paper.

“What kind of story?” Sho asked, setting the tray down and removing his gloves to receive the paper.

“Grandma Amakura’s beloved cat is lost again in Kinsei-machi (雨倉婆婆の愛猫錦政町で又行方不明),” Nino looked up at Sho.

“Let me get a notepad,” Sho nodded, walking over to Aiba’s desk to retrieve a pen and notebook. “Go ahead.”

“Please keep a lookout for the large brown cat,” Nino groaned in discomfort. “He has a white and black collar with a bell. He is not friendly, so please do not attempt to pet him or capture him. If you spot him, please call local animal control at 071-1295-3887.”

“Anything else?” Sho asked.

“He has a scar on his left front paw,” added Nino as Aiba rolled him to one side. “That’s all I know about him. Can you run it in tomorrow’s morning edition?”

Sho looked at the clock. “Yeah, if I call my boss now. Let me write it up.”

“Sho-kun?” Nino looked up from the operating table at Sho who was waiting next to the elevator.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks,” Nino breathed and lay back down as Aiba continued to suture his wound.

“Stop coming here to get patched up. This is a clinic for animals, not humans. Go see a human doctor next time,” Sho called, stepping into the open elevator.

“It’s free and confidential here!” Nino yelled back before Aiba pushed him down on the table.

“Sorry, Nino, this is for your own good,” Aiba pricked Nino with the tip of a syringe and pumped him full of sedatives.

“Ma…kun,” Nino slurred as his vision blurred and Aiba finished closing Nino’s wound in peace.

+

Nino woke up with the midday sun in his face and a dry mouth. He rolled over on his side and yelped when he realized that he had an injury that was throbbing. Coughing to clear his throat, he stumbled out of bed to take a leak. Once he was done, he washed his hands and decided he needed to brush his teeth. He was in Aiba’s bedroom and bathroom, but Aiba was likely downstairs working. What Nino needed to know was how long he had been out so he could determine whether he could take a bath or not. His phone was probably downstairs, confiscated by Aiba to ensure that Nino would have to see him before he left.

The clatter of crutches came down the hall and Aiba poked his head in just as Nino was coming out of the bathroom having splashed some water on his face and given himself a quick shave with one of the disposable razors Aiba kept stocked for Nino in his medicine cabinet.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Aiba hobbled over noisily. “Sit down so I can take your vitals.”

Nino did as he was asked, not wanting to make things more difficult for his friend who seemed to have adjusted to a life of crutches. Aiba set his crutches at the foot of the bed and eased himself onto a stool on wheels. Pulling a new set of latex gloves from his pocket, he smacked them on and then rolled about the hardwood flooring checking various things while making some notes.

“No fever, wound looks pretty good, no signs of infection,” Aiba said removing his gloves. “I’m gonna leave the stitches in for a few more days, but you can definitely shower. Limit your movement because if you rip your stitches, I’m sedating you until you heal.”

The veterinarian was normally cheerful and easy-going, but when it came to Nino’s injuries from the job, he became very serious and protective of the agent. The last time Nino had ripped out his stitches because he tried to return to work too early, Aiba had patched him up, but he also kept him mostly sedated for a week and called him out of work to heal. If there was anyone that had any power over S.S.A Ninomiya Kazunari, it was actually Dr. Aiba Masaki, DVM.

“No need to threaten me,” Nino held his good arm up in surrender. “I’m not going anywhere. I wasn’t planning on coming back so soon, but I guess I’m stuck here at least until you take my stitches out.”

Aiba’s serious face immediately melted into his cheerful one once he heard Nino being compliant. “I was worried about you,” Aiba leaned in and nuzzled Nino’s face before placing a soft kiss on Nino’s cheek. “You always make me so worried when you’re out in the field…”

“How about here, Ma-kun?” Nino opened his mouth and tilted his head to give Aiba a light kiss to the animal lover’s lips.

“You need to eat,” Aiba said pulling away, resisting the urge to push Nino onto his back and take him. “How about some fried rice? I have some leftover from last night in the fridge.”

“Is there hamburger steak?” Nino asked, helping Aiba to his feet and handing him the crutches.

“No, but I can make some for you tonight,” Aiba smiled. “… _if_ you’re a good patient.”

“No tricks,” Nino promised holding out his pinky with a solemn nod, following Aiba to the elevator. “Hey, changing the subject…does your house have a good view of Ohno Satoshi’s house?”

Aiba looked up with a curious raised eyebrow as he entered the elevator with Nino holding the door open.

“Yes, it’s what you think it is,” Nino confirmed. _Don’t ask me anymore because I can’t tell you anymore,_ said Nino’s face.

_Oh, one of them must be in witness protection._ The corners of Aiba’s mouth flattened in understanding.

“Yeah, Sho-chan’s bedroom has a pretty good view of their yard and my bedroom has a pretty good view of into their living room and kitchen,” Aiba pondered aloud as the elevator door pinged and he inched himself forward with his crutches onto the ground floor towards the kitchen. “I’ve only seen the curtains open once and even then Junka-san had the sheer curtains covering the windows so I couldn’t really see in. But it’s not like I was sitting looking there the whole time.”

As they passed by the living room window, Aiba stopped.

“Why’d you stop?” Nino asked.

“You can hear them making love sometimes from this window if you’re interested,” Aiba pointed out and then headed towards the kitchen his crutches clattering loudly.

“Why would that be something of interest to me?” Nino muttered.

“If their bathroom door is open, you can hear them,” Aiba shrugged, dismissing the question. “I don’t know what you’re investigating, but they seem like any other young couple in love.”

“Just heat up my fried rice,” Nino rolled his eyes. “Not interested in their sex life, thank you.”

“Too invested in ours?” Aiba grinned with a wink, throwing some fried rice onto a plate into the microwave. “How about some gyoza?”

“I’m not that hungry. Just the fried rice is fine,” Nino mumbled with an embarrassed shrug.

“You’re so weird,” laughed Aiba. “It’s just sex, perfectly natural. Though I must say, if those two were animals—”

“ _Not_ _interested_. Gimme some coffee—”

“No, you can have some barley tea,” Aiba handed him a glass.

“That doesn’t have any caffeine in it,” protested Nino with a whine.

“You don’t need caffeine right now because _you_ ,” Aiba paused for effect and placed his lips onto Nino’s forehead. “Are not working. Don’t give me that face…Stop pouting…Oh come on, Nino…”

Nino tugged at Aiba’s lab coat with the most pitiful of puppy eyes. “Please….just a glass of iced coffee? Ma-kun, I promise I’ll be good…”

“Fine….one glass,” Aiba agreed, sighing in defeat.

+

Agent Ninomiya Kazunari spent the next few days watching Ohno Satoshi’s house while he waited for his wound to heal. He was curious to see what things were like to the extent he was able to observe them. However, all he was able to observe was exactly what Jun had told him. Ohno Junka wakes up early and is always cooking or cleaning throughout the day. Ohno leaves early and walks to the docks while Junka takes care of the house. Occasionally she will leave the house to go to the market or run errands, but she is never gone for long. She is always in the house when Ohno returns. They seem to spend all their time together including some evenings when they sit out on the porch drinking with Junka snuggling into Ohno. By all accounts it looked like the living situation of any normal newlywed couple.

Nino’s phone vibrated loudly, bringing him out of his pensive state.

_“Ninomiya,”_ he answered, grateful that Aiba had at least returned his phone to him.

_“This is Animal Control. We’ve got the lost cat in possession. Locals reported seeing him wandering near the river. We got him early this morning and he’s being transported now. No need to return to Kinsei-machi at this time, Agent. We’re sending another agent to do the follow up and close the case. The Director is asking that you take the next bullet train to Tokyo as soon as you’re recovered. There’s been a development in the Matsumoto case.”_

_“Will do.”_

Nino ended the call and looked over at his wound. He moved his arm around and while it was a bit tender still, he felt like he could move it as long as he was careful. If he needed to meet the Director, then he reasoned that he did not need his full range of motion. He probably would have some meetings, do some research or paperwork and most likely and most importantly, he would not be in the field. After a quick shower and shave, Nino changed into his suit and slowly eased his arm into the more restrictive clothing. It was a struggle to put his socks on but he eventually managed.

Jerking the nightstand drawer open as it was heavy and sometimes stuck, Nino stared at his gun. While normal law enforcement in Japan did not carry firearms, Imperial Protective Services agents were often issued firearms to deal with the more specialized and dangerous cases that local police were not equipped to handle. Nino had already cleaned his gun the day he woke up and after Aiba had returned it to him, but he liked to be absolutely certain that his firearm was in perfect order especially since he had been a little woozy when he had cleaned it after his brush with the unsub of Kinsei-machi. He had a kit that he kept on his side of the bed in the nightstand for cleaning his gun. Aiba did not approve of him keeping his gun so close to them when Nino spent the night, but he had given up trying to police Nino since Nino always managed to sneak the gun into the drawer.

Nino was assembling his firearm when he heard the elevator ping and footsteps approaching.

“Nino?” called Sho, causing Nino to wince. The journalist always had such inconvenient timing.

“Yeah?” Nino responded, bringing Sho to Aiba’s bedroom.

“I wanted to—hey, are you getting ready to leave?” Sho asked, blocking the doorway.

“Yeah,” Nino sighed, sliding the last piece into place into the frame and checking his gun. “I gotta go to Tokyo.”

“He’s out right now, you know,” Sho pointed out crossing his arms.

“Yeah, I know,” Nino acknowledged, sliding the magazine in with a click and cleaning up his kit. “I just got a call. They got the guy from Kinsei-machi and I gotta return to Tokyo as soon as I can. I got a break in a case. Thanks for running the article. You can run the article saying we found the cat.”

“You’re welcome and glad they caught the bad guy, but shouldn’t you say goodbye?”

“Ma-kun will understand,” Nino shrugged, shutting his kit into the nightstand and pulling an envelope out from the drawer which he laid on the bed. He placed his phone in his pocket and his handgun into his holster behind his back. “What are you doing home so early?”

“I came back for a file that I forgot on my desk,” Sho replied, turning away and heading to his bedroom remembering his mission.

Nino placed the envelope on Aiba’s pillow and ran to Sho’s room. “Hey.”

“Yeah?” Sho looked up.

“Don’t let Aiba get too close to Ohno Satoshi and his wife. Same goes for you,” Nino warned with a low tone that Sho knew all too well. “See you.”

“ _Itterasshai_ ,” Sho nodded, picking up the folder and waving to Nino who was already running to the open elevator. When the door closed, Sho went to Aiba’s room and picked up the envelope that Nino left on Aiba’s pillow. The nosy journalist carefully brought it back to his room where he had a steamer for his clothes and proceeded to steam the envelope open. In the agent’s thin, angular left-handed handwriting that carried the occasional sweeping flourish and hook to his characters, Sho read to himself.

_Ma-kun,_

_It looks like I’ll need to run off before I can properly thank you again. You know how the job is. I know it doesn’t make what I’m doing right, but you mean a lot to me. I was hoping I’d be able to stay longer, but I gotta run—the bad guys don’t take a vacation. I promise I’ll come back not needing medical attention from you, but just to spend some time with you soon._

_Thanks for healing me and putting up with me. Take care of Sho-kun._

_Kazunari_

Sho was surprised that Nino had left a note. He steamed it back shut, holding the flap down for a minute and returned it to Aiba’s pillow. Aiba seemed to be fine with the relationship that he had with their childhood friend, but Sho always thought that Nino should act more like he was committed to Aiba. Sighing as he remembered it was really none of his business, he locked up the house and returned to his office at the local newspaper.

+

Jun had just finished the floors and was sitting in the living room when the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, he saw Nino in a suit at his door.

“Oh, you’re in a suit today,” Jun commented opening the door to welcome the agent in.

“I can’t stay long,” Nino explained, entering the _genkan_ area and closing the door behind him but not removing his shoes. “I’m heading to Tokyo in an hour or so. There’s been a development in your case.”

“What kind of development?” Jun asked in his feminine voice that just seemed to weird Nino out now that he thought about how Jun spoke like a woman all day despite being a man and even moaned like a woman when Ohno was making love to him at night.

“Not sure. I have a meeting with the Director, so don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, alright?” Nino ordered. “Don’t try to contact anyone from your past, don’t leave town, and try to lay low like you always have. You can hang out with Aiba-sensei and talk to him as Ohno Junka, but don’t tell him or his roommate anything about you, got it?”

“I won’t,” Jun promised.

“Aiba-sensei is really easy to talk to and his roommate is nice, so they might make you lower your guard. They’re not dangerous people, but you always need to be vigilant,” Nino lectured, walking around Ohno’s house checking the windows by closing them and locking them before returning them to the open position Jun had them in. “I don’t know what kind of development there’s been in your case, so just be careful. If you notice anything suspicious, call me. If you can’t speak freely, say the word ‘peanut’.”

“Pea…nut?” Jun repeated slowly with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, if you call me and you can’t speak freely, say the word ‘peanut’. That’s the distress word that I use. It’s common enough that won’t forget it but you’re not going to say it by mistake.”

“Can I tell Satoshi the distress word?” asked Jun.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Gotta go,” Nino opened the door and let himself out. “Take care of yourself.”

“When will you be back?” Jun changed into a pair of sandals and ran after him.

“Before you know it.”

Jun watched as Nino drove away with a wave. He felt nervous about the case development but there was really nothing he could do until he heard from the agent again. Knowing it could be a few days to weeks to possibly months, Jun exhaled trying to calm his anxieties away. With good timing, Ohno was just trudging over the hill to Jun’s field of vision.

“Satoshi!” Jun ran to him, bounding past 10 houses before he caught up to Ohno.

“Hello,” Ohno chuckled as Jun linked his arms through Ohno’s, the younger giving him a kiss to the cheek that left a slightly salty taste on his lips. “What’s the occasion of you coming to meet me?”

“You’re just the person I wanted to see,” Jun smiled, leaning happily into Ohno’s shoulder.

“You’re going to get fish guts on you if you lean in too close,” Ohno warned as they walked together down the empty street.

“I don’t care. I just cleaned the floors, so maybe we could take a bath together,” Jun suggested.

“You’re going to have to put your face back on after though,” whispered Ohno, kissing Jun’s cheek. “Are you okay with that?”

“Oooh, you’re right…” pondered Jun, taking his key out of his apron pocket and unlocking the gate and following Ohno to the side door where he normally washed off before he came into the house. Jun sat on the freezer dangling his feet over the edge watching Ohno as he rinsed off his boots. Once Ohno closed the door, he gave Jun a predatory stare and marched over to his pretty wife.

“So? Have you decided?” Ohno took Jun’s hand and kissed it gently.

Jun leaned down to Ohno’s forehead and was about to indulge in a kiss when the house phone rang. “Shall I get that?” Jun whispered in disappointment, looking in the direction of the phone and his body language already showing that he was getting ready to hop off the freezer to answer it.

“No,” Ohno turned Jun’s chin so Jun’s eyes were forced to look at him. The phone continued to ring out and Jun seemed to be distracted by it, so Ohno sighed. “Go answer it. I’m gonna take a bath.”

“Maybe later tonight?” Jun said hopefully.

“Yeah, maybe tonight,” Ohno nodded, shuffling to the bedroom while Jun answered the phone.

_“Ohno residence….”_ Jun paused.

_“Ohno Satoshi, please.”_ It was an unfamiliar voice of a man.

_“I’m sorry, he’s not available at the moment. Could I take a message?”_ Jun recovered, picking up the pen next to the phone and pulling the message pad forward.

_“Who is this?”_

_“This is his wife…”_

_Click._

_“Hello?”_ Jun said. _“Are you there?”_

The dial tone began to beep signaling the end of the call. Jun checked the received call history and wrote down the phone number.

“Who was that?” Ohno asked, wiping his hair with the bath towel.

“I don’t know?” Jun anxiously handed him a piece of paper with the phone number on it. “He asked for you and I told him you weren’t available. Then he asked me who I was and I told him I was your wife…did I do something wrong?”

Ohno took the paper and smiled at Jun. “Not at all. I’ll call this person later. I think I know who it is. Don’t worry about him. He’s nobody.”

“Should I be worried?” Jun asked, fidgeting with his apron.

“No,” Ohno kissed Jun on the lips. “Everything is fine. How about a beer?”

“Oh, right! Sorry!” Jun rushed to the refrigerator and took out a bottle and two chilled glasses. “Let me get that for us! Sit down. I’ll bring it to you…”

Ohno slipped the paper with the phone number into his pocket and rested his chin on his knuckles as Jun bustled about the kitchen to bring him the beer and some pickled vegetables, dried cuttlefish, and a small bowl of rice crackers and peanuts.

“What?” Jun asked as he poured the first glass for Ohno.

“Nothing,” Ohno stood up and kissed Jun’s cheek. “Just happy to be home with you. Relax. Sit down. You look beautiful and I love you.”

“Satoshi…” Jun blushed, taking the seat next to Ohno.

“Tell me about your day. Was that Agent Ninomiya that I saw driving away?”

“Oh yes!” Jun nodded excitedly. “There’s been a development…”

Ohno internally sighed in relief as he listened to Jun chatter. There was something about Jun being happy that made him happy. He thought to himself in that moment that he never wanted Jun to feel sad or anxious. He liked fishing and art, and those things made him relatively happy. But Jun made him happy in a different way from fishing and art. Ohno only hoped that one day he could figure out a way to show Jun how much he meant to him.

+

**_Three weeks later…._ **

Jun was lonely. He was not bored as the housework kept him more or less busy, but Nino had yet to contact him with an update on his case. Aiba had recently returned to a partial schedule of rotations so Jun could not very well pop over to see him like before. To make matters worse, Ohno had been busy with work recently, working six days a week instead of his usual four to five since they were short four men. Kondo had sent some of the crew to help a friend in Kyushu after a severe typhoon hit the area and as a result, the regular crew was working to cover the loss. On his days off, Ohno slept most of the day and just wanted to do his art. Sometimes he left for a few hours and that left very little time with Jun.

“How about a massage?” Jun asked one afternoon.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Ohno lay on the bed and took off his shirt.

Jun rubbed some oil on his hands and began to massage Ohno’s tanned back. Hoping things could get a little frisky, he trailed his fingers down, tracing Ohno’s spine to his tailbone. When Ohno moaned, he felt a little encouraged and began to knead the stiff muscles. He however was soon disappointed to hear the sound of snoring several minutes into his sensual massage. Jun continued to massage Ohno’s back and arms knowing that his husband would probably feel a lot better when he woke up, but he was also feeling frustrated that he had not been getting much action or affection as of late. When he was done massaging, he took a warm towel to wipe off the oil and covered Ohno with a light blanket.

Ohno woke up with a yawn and found himself on the bed with a blanket covering his bare back.

“Shit!” he cursed under his breath seeing Jun sleeping next to him on the bed, gripping his shirt.

Jun was still wearing his normal housewife clothes but as his hair had grown out considerably, he had it in a low ponytail tied with a purple scrunchie. Ohno reached to stroke Jun’s hair and his beautiful wife groaned a little in his sleep before relaxing.

“Just a little longer, I promise, my love,” Ohno whispered and laid a gentle kiss on Jun’s forehead.

Taking the blanket from his back and using it to cover Jun instead, he walked out to his studio and locked himself in the room.

+

_A few days later…_

“Satoshi,” Jun said one evening as Ohno was relaxing in front of the television.

“Mmm?” Ohno acknowledged but continued to watch his program.

“Are you bored with me?” Jun expelled without warning.

“No. Why?”

“It’s just…” Jun fidgeted with the hem of his blouse. “You haven’t touched me in weeks.”

“I’ve been tired. Work’s been you know….” trailed off Ohno.

“I know, but do you think we could…” Jun looked at him suggestively, touching his hair and thrusting his chest forward to signal that he wanted some affection.

“Not today, Jun,” Ohno dismissed him.

“Okay,” Jun backed down, returning to a position that was more neutral. After about 15 minutes, Jun stood up and walked to the door.

“ _Where_ are you going?” Ohno’s tone was accusatory and rubbed Jun the wrong way.

“For a walk,” sighed Jun.

“It’s late,” Ohno shut Jun down.

“It’s _just_ a walk and I _need_ some air,” Jun replied gritting his teeth in bubbling annoyance.

“You’re not going out this late. Go sit in the garden if you want some air.”

“I wanna take a _walk_ ,” Jun insisted, reaching for his keys and put his flats on.

Ohno stood up looking very irritated and walked over to the _genkan_ where Jun was standing. “You’re not going for a walk,” he growled in a low voice, grabbing Jun by the forearm.

“You’re not the boss of me. Let go of me!” Jun pulled his hand away and reached for the door handle.

“You’re NOT leaving!” Ohno reached for Jun’s shoulder and jerked him back towards the house.

“Yes, I am! I’m _just_ going for a _walk_!” Jun pulled forward with strength that surprised Ohno.

“Bullshit!” They were both livid and things were about to boil over.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! I said I’m just going for a walk to get some air!” snapped Jun.

“No, you’re not!” shouted Ohno. “You’re going out to meet other guys, aren’t you?!”

Jun whirled around and slapped Ohno in the face with such force and speed that the fisherman barely registered it until he felt the stinging sensation on his face moments later.

“Screw you, Ohno Satoshi!” Jun shouted angrily, his voice dropping dangerously close to his real voice but still in the feminine speech register. He was flushed red, there were tears in his eyes, and he was trembling with so much ire. He kicked off his shoes, threw down his keys and stomped back into the house.

Ohno watched as Jun grabbed a blanket off the couch and locked himself in Ohno’s art studio.

“Open up!” Ohno yelled, pounding on the door, afraid of what Jun might do in his sacred space. “Jun! Jun! Open this door right now!”

Jiggling the door knob, he tried for a few minutes to pound on the door and shout at Jun. He placed his ear to the door, expecting to hear Jun breaking things in his studio or tearing his sketchbooks, but he heard nothing of the sort. Instead he just heard the most heart-wrenching sobbing that tore him up inside and he had no idea what to do to fix it.

+

Ohno woke up the next morning to realize he was the only one in bed. He slowly got himself ready and shuffled into the kitchen. Instead of seeing his wife standing over the stove waiting to greet him before his long shift, he saw the kitchen totally pitch black, sterile and quiet. It was the first time since Jun arrived that he had no breakfast. There was no loving kiss, no coffee to warm him before his day. Ohno opened the refrigerator wondering if there were any leftovers that he could consume, but there was only a plastic container of cold rice.

_I guess it’s convenience store food_ … Ohno shuffled out miserably and began the longest walk to the dock he ever experienced.

On the boat, Ohno was a basket case. He barely acknowledged anyone and just kept to himself. Everyone was tired from working double shifts, so they just let him be. At the end of the day, Ohno dragged his feet home, irritable and tired. When he arrived home, he half expected Jun to greet him as always from the hallway. Today there was no such greeting. He looked around and knew that Jun was not in his normal spaces. He could see a tiny bit of light seeping out of the door frame to his studio and did not dare try the door handle, fearing what might transpire.

The house was very quiet and if Jun was in his studio, he certainly was quiet as a mouse. Ohno thought that he would at least need to come out to use the bathroom, but he waited until 10 that evening and no sign of Jun. Knowing he had an early start, he eventually gave up and went to bed, rubbing the empty space that Jun usually slept in forlornly.

+

For two days in a row, Ohno woke up to the same reality. Empty bed, no meals, no wife. Today, the third day, he did hear a bit of noise from the studio, the sound of fabric swishing and a tiny creak, but then nothing. Ohno walked up to the door of the studio room and thought about banging on it again, but it was 3:30 in the morning and hardly the time to start an argument.

So, he set off to work and was in a much testier mood than the previous day. When he got stuck with morning cleaning duty because someone called out, Ohno nearly lost it. He was slamming things down, kicking stuff into place, and muttering to himself until finally Higashiyama approached him.

“Yo, what is with you, Satoshi?” he said, helping the smaller man with his task.

“Nothing,” Ohno mumbled and continued to work without further acknowledging the other person.

“Did you have a fight with your wife?” he asked sympathetically.

Ohno glared at him and then went back to work.

“That’s a yes,” he sighed. Higashiyama was about to press for more when he was called away by Nakai to help carry some crates, leaving Ohno to his twisted obsessive thoughts.

By mid-morning the news had spread that Ohno was having a fight with Jun and the crew was not happy about it. They eventually needled Nakai into doing something about it. With the crew so distracted he instead told Higashiyama to confront Ohno while they were on lunch break.

“Satoshi, what happened?” Higashiyama asked sympathetically as he handed Ohno some lunch. “You had a fight with Junka-san, right?”

Ohno ate his food and just sulked.

“You’ll feel better if you talk about it,” promised Higashiyama, staring out at the ocean drinking a can of coffee. “There comes a point in a man’s life that he needs to share his feelings with other guys so he can figure out how to move on with his life, you know. Trust me. You can ask ex-wife #1.”

Ohno looked up at the mention of ‘ex-wife’ and glared daggers into his friend.

“I’m not saying that you’re heading on that path with Junka-san, but if you let the little things eat away at your marriage, it’s gonna just keep getting worse,” the older man continued.

“I don’t know how to fix it,” Ohno said with a dead voice. “I’ve never had someone like Jun in my life. I don’t know how to fix things.”

“Well, what happened?”

The story came tumbling out of Ohno’s mouth before he could censor anything. Higashiyama just nodded and listened. “And that’s pretty much where we are at. Jun isn’t speaking to me because she’s locked herself in my studio. She won’t come out when I’m home, though I’m guessing that she goes out during the day when she knows I’m at work. I can’t imagine her not eating or leaving. There’s no bathroom in the studio, so she has to come out eventually.”

“So let me get this straight. You have a drop dead gorgeous wife that is the envy of everyone here that you haven’t touched for weeks. She’s feeling insecure, so she tried to initiate something while you were relaxing. You were tired so you brushed her off—rookie move, man. That’s how you stop getting offers from the missus,” Higashiyama shook his head.

Ohno glared at him, but Higashiyama just continued, ignoring him.

“Then she seems upset so she wants to take a walk. You get mad because…? I don’t know—that’s _still_ not very clear to me, but she wants to leave and you don’t want to let her. So you try to stop her and in your brutish moment, you accuse her of wanting to cheat with other men when she just wants to take a walk. And then she gets mad, understandably, slaps you in the face and locks herself in your studio. Did she break all of your shit? Ex-wife #1 threw my stuff out from the third floor balcony once.”

“What?! No! I don’t so,” Ohno said. “I mean I haven’t tried the door so I don’t know for sure, but when she locked herself in there I didn’t hear anything being broken.”

“Oh, that’s a good sign,” nodded Higashiyama encouragingly.

“But she was crying really loudly,” admitted Ohno meekly.

“Not a good sign,” frowned Higashiyama. “Does she have any female friends?”

“Not to my knowledge. Jun just stays at home. I mean, she used to talk to Aiba-sensei, next door, but he’s been back to his normal rotation. That’s pretty much her only social contact other than me.”

“Well, I guess they won’t be telling her to break all of your shit…or to just cheat on you now that you’ve entertained the possibility. You know women. Now that you’ve blamed her for wanting to cheat and questioned her integrity, it’s pretty much like giving her the green light to cheat. ‘Well, he thinks I’m cheating anyway, why not actually be guilty of the crime’—and I’ve said too much…”

Ohno suddenly looked panicked. “You think she’s gonna cheat on me?!” he moaned, cradling his forehead in his hand.

“Why do you look so surprised? Aren’t you the one who accused her? Why would you accuse her if you had no reason to believe she was cheating on you?”

“I don’t know! I really don’t and when I saw how mad she was and then how sad she was…and then how she locked herself away…I just didn’t know what to do…”

“Higashi! Come help us pull up the lines!” called Nakai.

“Coming!” Higashiyama called back. “I’ll be right back.”

+

No one asked for Ohno so he kept staring at the ocean. He did not feel much better despite having told his friend the whole story. It was very raw and painful and he wanted to curl up and hide away. Instead, he fell asleep for some unspecified amount of time and was rudely awoken by people carrying him roughly by the arms. They threw him down and Ohno looked up drowsily. They were back at the dock and his entire crew were standing around him in a circle looking very angry.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep,” Ohno spoke. “I haven’t been getting a lot of sl—”

“Shut up,” Nakai cut him off. “You’ve been mopping the deck with your stupid face for three straight days now. I hear that you got into a fight with your wife.”

Ohno looked for Higashiyama in the crowd of faces, but he was conveniently not present.

“You fuckin’ idiot!” Nakai roared. “You have a good wife and you screwed up big time.”

“Yeah! How could you do that to Junka-san!” the crew chimed in. “She’s a 10 and you’re a negative 2! She puts up with _all_ your bullshit like us, but she does it with a smile! She finds your personality to be _endearing_! She told Nakai-san and us to take care of _you_!”

“Oi, Ohno,” Nakai said in a low, serious voice. “Don’t be such a pathetic excuse for a man!” He threw a punch at Ohno, socking him squarely in his right cheek. “For the morale of everyone here, get off my fucken boat and go make up with your wife. You’re suspended from work for 3 days,” Nakai spat.

“But the work—” Ohno held his cheek.

“Everyone’s coming back from Kyushu tomorrow. We don’t need your sorry ass. Go reflect on what you’ve done and fix it like a man!”

“I don’t know what to do,” Ohno admitted.

Nakai grabbed Ohno by the collar and brought him to his feet. “Buy her some flowers, apologize and beg for forgiveness, and talk to her before you lose the one good thing in your life! Man, do I gotta think for you _and_ wipe your ass?! Good grief, you troublesome _kouhai_! Now get the hell off my boat!” Nakai shoved Ohno towards the ramp. “And the rest of you, break down this haul! NOW!” he shouted, turning away and dismissing the group.

Ohno shuffled away, holding his cheek and then immediately started to run towards the nearest flower shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _To be continued… And the plot and drama thickens like Jun's curry that has yet to be featured in this fic! Will Ohno be able to smooth things over with Jun or will he make things worse? Place your bets now...Until next time!_


	9. Things Important to Us (俺たちの大切なもの)

It was nearly 5 when Ohno came home. He placed the massive flower bouquet on top of the fish freezer, grabbing an ice pack from he freezer for his face as he cautiously walked into the hallway.

“Jun?” he called, but was met with no answer.

He smelled awful, so despite his desire to want to make up right away, he decided to take a quick shower. When he emerged clean and in some house clothes, he went to check the living room and kitchen. The living room was empty and unlike the previous day, he saw that the dining table was bare. He felt his heart sink as now there was no dinner in addition to no breakfast, which meant Jun must still be in the studio.

“Jun,” he said knocking on the door. “It’s me…can we talk?”

No response.

“Look, about the other day…I’m sorry. I was out of line. I want to talk to you. Please open the door so I can apologize to your face.” Ohno could feel his own heart breaking as he pleaded with the door. “Jun, please let me in,” he begged. “I’m sorry for acting the way that I had. You didn’t deserve any of it and I didn’t mean it. Come on, Jun! Say something back—”

“ _Tadaima_.”

A car drove off and the front door swung open to reveal Jun carrying a bunch of bags as he stepped into the house. His face was impassive and he quickly shut the door behind him. If he noticed the slight swelling on Ohno’s face, he did not give any indication of it.

“Jun?” Ohno breathed, seeing Jun’s hair down cascading around his face in soft shiny black waves. It was the first time he had seen Jun’s grown out hair framing his face in that way as normally Jun kept it tied back and clipped back in a more conservative style, even while he slept. Jun was dressed in a newer outfit that Ohno had purchased for him, a cream colored quarter-sleeve breezy linen top and a billowy pair of pale blue pants. He had a full face on with a muted but pigmented purple eye shadow that accentuated his light brown eyes framed by full lashes coated in jet black mascara. With a subtle glossy strawberry milk lip tint and rosy highlighted cheeks, Ohno Satoshi’s wife was flawless and looked like he had just stepped out of a snazzy fashion magazine for affluent housewives.

Jun hung the garment bag he was carrying where the coats were normally hung and set the other tote bags and packages he was carrying down so he could take off his kitten heels. He ignored Ohno and took the bags to the kitchen. Ohno could see that Jun had a bunch of vegetables, a plastic opaque container, a bottle of expensive-looking soy sauce, and a bottle of liquor. He put everything away and then took a piece of paper out of his purse and carefully placed it in the kitchen drawer that he kept his things in. When Jun did not acknowledge Ohno and was about to pick up the garment bag, Ohno broke the tension.

“You went out,” he said, sounding a little more accusatory than he intended.

“Yes,” Jun said tiredly, his hand resting on the metal part of the garment bag.

“Where did you go?” Ohno followed him.

“To run some errands,” Jun straightened the garment bag.

“What _kind_ of errands?”

“ _Your_ errands,” Jun turned around to face him with a frown.

“My errands?” Ohno repeated in confusion.

“Yes, the tailor called today that your suit was done, so I went to pick it up at 2.”

“My suit?”

“For the funeral service for Kondo-shachou’s father,” Jun clarified hotly, unzipping the garment bag to show Ohno that it was indeed his suit before zipping it back up.

“Oh, right.”

“Then I went to pay for your property taxes at the municipal office and change your national health insurance to plan 14 because the last day for enrollment is tomorrow. And then I went to pick up the vegetables from Okada-san. He said he wanted to share some with you, so I went to his house. He also gave me the soy sauce and the bottle of sake for you…and his wife made some _nikujaga._ ”

“Who were you with?” Ohno could not help but ask.

“What?”

“Who were you with today?” repeated Ohno.

“You mean who was accompanying me while I was running _your_ errands?” Jun asked incredulously.

“Yeah.”

“ _No one_. I was by myself, Satoshi. Okada-san felt bad that I had so many things to carry back that he brought me back in his taxi so I didn’t have to walk with all these things from the train station. You should call him and thank him for the food. The rice is on warm. Heat up the _nikujaga_ if you’re hungry _—_ ”

“Why is your hair down?” interrupted Ohno with suspicious eyes.

Jun rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly in annoyance. “Because my hair tie broke when I was walking outside the municipal office. I have a bunch at home, so I didn’t want to be wasteful and buy more. Are there any other questions that you have or do I need an alibi and GPS tracker now in order to run your errands?”

Jun picked up the garment bag and started walking towards the bedroom, leaving Ohno speechless in the hallway. Once he hung up Ohno’s suit, he came back out and opened the door to the studio, which had been unlocked the entire time Ohno now noted.

“Wait,” Ohno said, rushing to stop Jun before he could slam the door in his face. “Wait, Jun!”

Jun did his best to close the door before Ohno could get to him, but Ohno was too fast and nimble. “What do you want?” Jun snarled icily, tugging at the door.

Ohno looked into the studio and saw that it was largely undisturbed and the only thing that did not belong was the blanket that Jun had taken which was on a pillow that Ohno normally used for his back when he wanted to sketch leaning against a wall. “You didn’t destroy my stuff,” Ohno said quietly.

“Why would I destroy your stuff?” Jun retorted, trying to pull the door closed, but the fisherman’s legs were like iron weights anchoring it open.

“The guys—Higashiyama—said you might break all my stuff if you were mad enough,” Ohno bit his lip nervously.

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence. Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse,” Jun continued to tug at the door in a frustrating attempt to close it on Ohno.

“You didn’t even touch anything in here,” the surprise evident on Ohno’s face.

“It’s not my room. It’s your art. I wouldn’t disturb it no matter how mad I was,” Jun looked around to see if there was any place he could escape to to remove himself from Ohno’s bubble.

Ohno placed his hand on Jun’s, which made Jun tense and back away into the studio.

“Wait!” Ohno begged. “Jun, I’m sorry for being a jerk to you. I don’t know what came over me 3 days ago. I’ve been racking my brain for why I said those terrible things to you. I don’t know why I’m acting so jealous and possessive of you. I trust you completely and I didn’t think you were cheating on me and yet, when I couldn’t bring myself to get in the mood to please you, I just projected my own insecurities and took it out on you instead. The truth is that I’ve just been so tired from working that I just don’t feel like doing much of anything. I’m not inspired to do my art and I just didn’t have the energy for sex. It’s not that you’re any less beautiful or that I don’t want you, but I’m just really fatigued and no matter how much I sleep, I don’t feel refreshed at all.

I feel so low as a man and it’s making me think stupid thoughts like how you will leave me if I cannot please you, doubting your integrity even though I have absolutely no reason to doubt you. I am truly sorry for all of this, the way I treated you, and for taking so long to come to you. You’re the first serious relationship I’ve had and in the past, every time things got tough, I just ran away from my problems and blamed the other person. But this time, even though I knew I screwed up with the one person who loved me, I didn’t know how to fix it. And that’s the truth. My crew and Nakai had to get involved today because I was affecting the morale of the boat. So, I’m here right now to beg for your forgiveness and to promise you that I will be better. Please don’t leave me alone any longer. I’m sorry, Jun. Come back to our bed, please?”

“What happened to your face?” Jun sniffed with a pout as he crossed his arms across his busty chest, squeezing the silicone filled artificial chest upward as he leaned heavily on his left hip.

“Nakai punched me in the face today and told me to stop being such a pathetic excuse for a man. He said you’re too good for me and told me to make up with you for the morale of the crew. For the record, they were all on your side and told me I was wrong. Oh, and Nakai also suspended me from work for three days,” Ohno admitted.

“I don’t know, Satoshi,” sighed Jun.

“Please!” Ohno begged, reaching slowly so that Jun could choose to move away if he wanted to. When he did not, Ohno gently caressed Jun’s cheek with the pads of his rough fingers. “I know I screwed up, but I love you. I promise to be different! L-L-Let me show you…and make it up to you, okay…?”

Ohno leaned in for a slow, deliberate kiss, a kiss that they both knew caused the sparks to fly between them as the contact ignited the passion that had died during the past few weeks. Ohno trailed the lightest of kisses on Jun’s jawline before pressing his lips to Jun’s, whose body responded by opening his mouth so Ohno could claim the mouth of his lover. And then Ohno gave him the searing kiss that drove Jun wild and they both knew it as Jun moaned sensually into Ohno’s mouth.

“Does this mean I’m forgiven and that you’ll join me back in our bed?” Ohno asked quietly pulling away from Jun.

“Oh, I don’t know…” began Jun, but when Ohno put on his most remorseful and apologetic face, Jun’s resolve faltered and once again he gave into the man. “I suppose,” Jun sighed, and no sooner had he agreed, Ohno yanked him from the studio and pinned him to the hallway wall.

“Then let’s make love tonight,” he whispered sucking on Jun’s neck and lifting Jun’s blouse and rubbing Jun’s taut stomach with his free hand on his way up to Jun’s bra. When Jun granted him the subtle permission, he pulled Jun’s blouse over his head and pulled his own shirt off. “Jun, Jun…” he whispered, immediately reaching for the hooks on Jun’s flesh-colored bra and deftly releasing the fasteners while he ground his pelvis into Jun.

Jun was writhing and moaning as he submitted to Ohno’s pace and rhythm, each of them losing more articles of clothing as they stumbled their way down the hall. Eventually, Ohno swept Jun off his feet bridal style and carried him to their bed, where they spent the night making up for weeks of sexual frustration and hurt feelings.

+

Jun lay awake and saw the clock read 2:55 in the morning. Ohno was passed out having came so many times that Jun was fairly certain that he would be out for at least another few hours more. Jun was more than satisfied now that he had been thoroughly ravished several times over by his attentive, giving husband. His body was probably had more than a few bruises and he could feel the uncomfortable sensation of bodily fluids still in his bottom, all signs that he had been loved and brought to climax over and over again until he was not seeing straight and only mewling in pleasure. He smirked to himself at the memory of the previous night…

_He was sitting on the bedroom floor giving him a fast and feverish hand job as Ohno sat fully naked on the chair next to his vanity. “Put it in your mouth…yeah…Oh god, Jun your mouth is so hot, so good…” Ohno moaned when he shoved himself further down Jun’s throat, staring intently as his length disappeared into Jun’s sweet glossy lips, and holding Jun’s head so that he could control everything about the oral experience._

Jun was all too happy to accommodate this moment of selfishness on Ohno’s part as he knew that Ohno loved getting sucked off. The man may have been serious and stoic like a statue around others but he was extremely vocal and vulnerable in the bedroom.

_“Fuck, I’m coming…Jun…please…” Ohno whimpered with his eyes closed and a quivering lip as Jun hummed around his length, accommodating every thrust as he stretched his mouth and jaw for Ohno. Gagging slightly, Jun held him at the back of the throat and Ohno went rigid and let out a cry of release as his first orgasm coursed through his body like wild tremors. Jun drank as much of the thick liquid as he could as it filled his mouth rapidly. It was thick and viscous and some of it ended up dribbling down his chin and exposed Adam’s apple as he sniffled with a cough at Ohno’s feet_.

_“Come here,” Ohno beckoned, patting his lap, to which Jun obliged by straddling Ohno’s lap and was rewarded with Ohno’s soft lips kissing at his throat and chest while the fisherman worked Jun’s entrance loose with the lubricant from the vanity. Jun sat squirming on Ohno’s lap while he rubbed their stiff members together, Jun’s member providing the slick lubricant as he had yet to come for the night._

Of all the people that Jun had ever slept with in his short and reckless youth prior to being placed into witness protection, Ohno Satoshi was the only one to drive him completely mad in the bedroom. The unassuming rural fisherman’s fingers were like nerve-stimulating electric magic for Jun—teasing, pushing, pinching, gripping, caressing, and groping at Jun’s flesh in all the right ways while sending minute pulses through each and every nerve as shocks of pain and pleasure zipped throughout Jun’s body to his nether region. The pace Ohno set with his hips and unique rhythm reduced Jun to a begging mess every single time and Jun knew that he was utterly powerless against Ohno when it came to their bedroom affairs. He would never admit it to his husband, but Jun was completely obsessed with and addicted to sex with Ohno. When Ohno denied him the normal romantic affection that he was accustomed to as the fisherman’s wife for over 3 weeks, the building sexual frustration was like the worst itch that Jun felt he could never reach to scratch. Jun blushed as he recalled the final moments before it all went black:

_He was sprawled on his stomach rutting himself against one of their pillows whining for Ohno to finish in him as he himself greedily craved a third climax that was bound to be dry as everything he had to give Ohno had already swallowed or was on the slimy sheets underneath Jun’s aching body, so Jun really had nothing more left to expel. Ohno was enjoying himself, holding back his second orgasm of the night until the last possible moment while he rode Jun from the back. Hot, sweaty, sticky, and exhausted, Jun craned his neck back in a feat really only possible because of his natural extreme flexibility._

_“Satoshi, please, my love, finish in me,” he implored deliriously and a heavy pant between him licking his lips._

_“I can still go more,” Ohno grunted._

_“Don’t hold back any more,” Jun whispered. “Come, come deep and fill me…” Jun felt Ohno twitch inside of him and Ohno’s pace increase. “Yes, Satoshi…harder…faster…! Give it to me! Fuck it all—” Ohno was racing as he banged Jun roughly to the finish. “I’m yours! Oh….fuuuc…” Jun cursed loudly as Ohno came with a guttural moan, gripping Jun’s hips tightly as he poured himself into Jun’s entrance that milked the hot pulsing waves of heavy seed from Ohno, the older man’s trembling arms giving out as he lowered himself onto Jun’s back before Jun himself blacked out from the orgasmic high._

There was no way Jun could tell Agent Ninomiya any of this as he recalled snippets of the night of passion, thinking back to the time they had the comical misunderstanding of the change in the relationship between Ohno and him. Rolling over, he saw Ohno snoring softly on his back and took the moment to gently trace his fingers over his shoulder and the light bruise on Ohno’s cheek from the punch he had taken from Nakai. Jun kissed Ohno on the collarbone and Ohno mumbled in his sleep in response.

“Ah, no more, Jun…keep going…I want _tamagoyaki_ …”

Jun stifled a snort. Even in his sleep, he only thought of Jun and that was clear to his wife. Despite the blowout they had, Jun still very much loved his artistic fisherman husband and wanted it to work. After two days of being on cooking strike, he was somewhat excited to get back to providing his man with good food, so he decided to take a bath. The food from Okada could wait for dinner; Jun was going to cook Ohno breakfast.

When Jun stood up, he felt the ooze as gravity took its toll and quickly ran to the bath while noting how his muscles and backside ached. In the privacy of the bath, Jun could better assess the damage as he cleaned himself thoroughly and gave himself a good pampering. His neck, chest, stomach, and thighs were covered in evidence of Ohno’s mouth and he could see a few bruises on his hips and butt where Ohno had held him tightly.

Jun took the time to soak in the warm water to relax his muscles and have a moment to himself of bliss while he basked in the afterglow. He would need to wash the bedding thoroughly and do a few loads of laundry. Then he was going to make a good breakfast, a couple of drinking snacks, and two desserts for his beloved Satoshi. With a plan in mind, Jun excitedly got out of the bath and began his day refreshed.

+

When Ohno awoke it was nearly 7, which was late for him considering he would normally be at work had he not been suspended. Panicking when he saw an empty bed, he was immediately reassured by the familiar sound of a knife tapping hollowly on a cutting board and the sound of the frying pan scraping against the stove burner. 

He wandered out naked into the kitchen and saw his flowers sitting in a vase on the dining table, the card that read “ _I’m sorry. I was wrong. Forgive me. Let’s make up. —Satoshi_.”

He could smell some clams in the miso soup so he reasoned that Jun must have found the flowers on the fish freezer and placed them in water when he went to get the clams to defrost. 

Jun was oblivious to his presence, completely focused on cooking, so Ohno took the opportunity to surprise him. When Jun was about to take the scraps of vegetables to the sink, Ohno placed himself right next to this sink.

“Good morning,” he said smoothly.

“S-Sa-Satoshi!” Jun squeaked dropping the tops and ends of carrots and zucchini all over the counter and into the sink.

Ohno pulled him in close and gave Jun a kiss on the cheek.

“God, Satoshi, you’re naked!” Jun squirmed away, embarrassed and touching his hair that was pulled back anxiously.

“You seemed to find my state of dress to be quite convenient last night,” he smirked.

“Go have a shower and put some clothes on,” Jun said as he covered his eyes with his hands but was clearly peeking through his fingers and staring at the lower half of Ohno’s body, checking out where his love bites had made their mark.

“You minx,” Satoshi teased, striking a sexy pose as if he were a female gravure model with his arms above his head and his pelvis thrust forward.

“The neighbors,” Jun protested.

“The windows are closed and the curtains are drawn, so look all you want, you pervert,” laughed Ohno.

Jun gave him a playful push. “Go get ready so I can grill the fish….Is your face okay?” Jun reached to caress Ohno’s cheek.

“It’s fine. It’s a little tender, but I’m full of energy!” Ohno beamed, causing Jun to blush. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Just get ready, Satoshi,” Jun commanded, shoving Ohno away now that he had confirmed that Ohno was alright.

“Fine,” Ohno whined and gave Jun a wink before retreating to the bedroom.

+

When Ohno returned, he was greeted with a full breakfast spread with grilled mackerel, miso soup with clams and green onions, _tamagoyaki_ , breakfast sausages, picked vegetables, rice, yogurt, and fruit. 

“Jun,” he bawled, running into the arms of his wife, who had just set down the coffee mugs. “I missed your food.”

“I made a little extra today since we didn’t really get to eating dinner. You must be hungry,” Jun smiled, patting the older man’ fluffy hair.

“I’m famished!” Ohno nodded, sitting down. “ _Itadakimasu!_ ”

Jun watched as Ohno took the first bites and looked like he was in heaven before partaking in his own food.

“I’m surprised you had the energy to cook this time,” Ohno commented stuffing some fried egg into his mouth. “Mmmmm, so good!”

“Well, I had 4 hours ahead of you to recover,” Jun smiled.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“If you’re asking if my back and ass are okay, they are recovering,” Jun took a sip of soup nonchalantly and Ohno blushed at the sudden crudeness of Jun.

“I hope you were satisfied, milady of the house?”

“The Queen was most satisfied with the performance,” Jun declared with closed eyes and opened one to see Ohno’s reaction, which was nothing but pride in hearing he had delivered above and beyond in the sheets. “And thank you for the flowers. They’re lovely, Satoshi.”

Ohno looked away in embarrassment. As one of the few people who addressed him by his first name, the way Jun said it whether it was in love or on the edge of pain and pleasure always made him feel warm and happy inside. Ohno’s mobile phone vibrated so he checked his messages.

“Something wrong?” Jun asked, placing a bite of fish into his mouth delicately.

“No,” Ohno smiled. “Nothing at all. I’ll tell you later after we clean up. Let’s just eat in peace.”

“You sure?” hesitated Jun uneasily.

“Positive. I want to enjoy your food,” Ohno picked up a piece of egg and smiled.

+

“Jun?” Ohno said, placing the last wiped dish onto the shelf.

“Hmm?” Jun said, turning the dustpan into the waste bin and putting the broom away.

“There’s some place I’d like to take you today.”

“Oh, really? Where?” Jun asked, washing his hands.

“It’s a secret,” Ohno looked towards the ceiling.

“Oh? Tell me,” Jun said, quickly pressing the front of his body into Ohno and running his hands along Ohno’s back and to his butt sensually and whispering into Ohno’s ear. “I promise I can keep a…secret…”

“No, it will ruin the surprise,” Ohno tried to pull away.

Jun leaned in and kissed him softly with his half lidded eyes that looked at Satoshi like he was a little lamb in the presence of a hungry lion. Ohno gulped. “Are you sure,” panted Jun between kisses. “That you can’t tell me…?”

Ohno looked away and willed himself to think unsexy thoughts.

“Satoshi…” Jun moaned, biting down gently on Ohno’s earlobe as that was the most convenient point of contact given that Ohno was looking away. “Tell me…”

“Why must you be so difficult?” groaned Ohno.

Jun touched the back of Ohno’s head.

“Come on, Jun…Just be a good wife and let me surprise you like any normal person…”

“Fine…” Jun released Ohno who looked visibly aroused.

“I’m going to change, so go wait in the car,” Ohno directed.

“You don’t need any help?” Jun offered with a saccharine fake innocent tone.

“We will never get there if you keep this up. Now go,” Ohno placed the keys into Jun’s hand and gave him a gentle shove towards the door. “I’ll be there in a sec.”

Jun pouted, grabbed his purse and shuffled towards the door.

Ohno breathed a sigh of relief and went to take care of the lower half of his body.

“You are such a troublesome little wife sometimes,” sighed Ohno to himself, turning into the bedroom as Jun walked out the door. He unzipped himself and stared down as his already hard length accusingly. “I thought _you_ got plenty last night from Jun.” Ohno closed his eyes as recalled the night in vivid detail as that was how his artist brain captured his life. Jun’s naked body writhing beneath him. Jun’s pretty face and feminine features contorting as he came with a graceful arch to his back from Ohno’s actions the first time last night. Ohno added some lotion from the bathroom and slicked himself further as he pumped his engorged length to completion, climaxing into the toilet bowl with several grunts as he leaned heavily into he wall for support with his other hand. Exhaling and gulping in several breaths of air, he wiped himself down, washed his hands, and went out to meet Jun.

+

Jun was waiting in the car reading a book when Ohno came out. “Took you long enough,” he commented, placing the woven bookmark attached to the spine between the pages to mark his spot.

“Yes, no thanks to someone’s teasing,” Ohno smirked.

“You relieved yourself without me?” Jun looked rather offended.

“We are in a hurry,” Ohno silenced Jun with a kiss. “Now drive and head towards the Nishi-sakamori liquor shop that I like. It was just my hand and I still have plenty of energy saved up for us later.”

Jun pouted again, but started the car. “Well, I—” began Jun indignantly.

“No, _you_ would have wanted to make love and we are going to be late. So I promise that you will get a lot of loving later, but for now let’s just go to where I want to take you. Please trust me.”

Jun looked at Ohno while they were at a stoplight.

“I promise this is gonna be _way_ better than any short term pleasure you would have gotten,” Ohno reassured Jun, rubbing his skirt covered thigh.

“If it’s not?” Jun had to push the envelope and Ohno simply laughed.

“Then I will do whatever you ask, no questions asked, for one week,” Ohno promised, holding out his pinky. “Pinky promise.”

“You’re such a child sometimes,” Jun rolled his eyes, but held his pinky out for Ohno to shake on it.

+

After about 45 minutes of driving, they arrived at the liquor store.

“How much is left in my liquor budget for this month?” Ohno asked, getting out of the car.

“6,400 yen,” Jun replied without missing a beat, following him towards the store front.

“Did you buy my beer already for next week?” Ohno asked absently.

“Not yet,” Jun shook his head. “Oh, look at the vegetables today!” Jun pointed to the small roadside. “Can I go look? Or do you want me to go with you to the liquor store first?”

“Actually,” Ohno said, grabbing Jun by the wrist gently and tugging him. “Follow me.”

Ohno led Jun down a maze of other stores until he arrived at a simple shop that looked like it was built in the Meiji era. It did not even have a sign outside of it.

“Satoshi, where are we?” called Jun, stumbling after Ohno.

“We are here,” Ohno said, opening the door and ushering Jun in first.

Jun walked in and saw it led into the inside of an artisan’s workshop. From what he could see, the person probably dappled in metals, possibly knives, some jewelry, wood working and lacquers, and he could smell the faint scent of natural dyes for dying traditional fabrics.

“What is this place—”

“You’ll see…” Ohno smiled.

“Oh, Ohno-sensei!” an older man called, crawling out from Jun could only guess was under a worktable.

“Sensei?” Jun mumbled, instinctively reaching for Ohno’s forearm shyly. “Are you a sensei of some sort?”

“Juumonji-sensei!” Ohno greeted him with an unusually friendly tone for the normally unsociable fisherman. “We’re finally here!”

“It’s good to see you, my friend,” Juumonji-sensei waved.

“Juumonji-sensei, this is my wife, Junka,” Ohno said, gently turning his body so the older man could see Jun. “Jun, this is the owner of the shop and my good friend, Juumonji Kaoru-sensei.”

“Junka-san, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Juumonji,” he bowed.

“The pleasure is all mine, Juumonji-sensei,” Jun bowed. “What kind of shop is this?”

Juumonji laughed heartily. “It’s my whatever-I-feel-like-making shop! I work with metals and wood mostly. My family comes from a long line of fabric specialists and my father did a lot of dye work, but I’ve always liked working with metal and wood, so once my father passed away, I decided to just focus on what I liked to make and have been making whatever people need.”

Jun looked around and while he had not noticed it, there were pieces lined all along the walls of different items that the master artisan seemed to have created.

“This sensei sounds like he has your dream job,” joked Jun to Ohno.

“I know! Isn’t he great?” Ohno gushed, giving Jun a new facet of Ohno he had never seen before but was just as beautiful as all the others he had seen in the past since it showcased Ohno at his happiest. “I mean, I like fishing, but the boat is so noisy and the guys are always up in my business asking about you…”

“So you’re Ohno-sensei’s lovely wife that I’ve been hearing so much about,” Juumonji commented, stepping closer to the couple.

“All good things I hope?” Jun smiled.

“Of course,” Juumoji agreed. “I’ve heard a great deal from Ohno-sensei here and some talk through town about a beautiful lady who married the quiet fisherman.”

“Excuse me, why is he calling you, ‘sensei’?” Jun asked.

“Ohno-sensei is indeed a sensei!” Juumoji affirmed. “We worked together on a piece a while back. Oh, it must be a few years now—right when you moved to town. Let me see if I have a photo of it…” The older artisan reached for a large shoebox and began rifling through until he found what he was looking for. “Here,” he said, holding out the photo to Jun. “This is the piece that Ohno-sensei and I worked on together.”

Jun saw a wooden chest of some sort with many tiny finishes and details both engraved into the wood and added as metal finishes.

“What is this? A treasure chest?” Jun asked slowly, studying the photo.

“Excellent guess,” chuckled the artisan. “That’s exactly what it is.”

“Really?” Jun’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.

“A man came by and asked me to make him a treasure chest for his boss’ son. I’m thinking this guy is definitely part of the _yakuza_ and I am already dreading telling him no. He gave me some rough ideas and elements that he wanted and I told him it wasn’t specific enough so I didn’t want to take the job. He was very persistent and wouldn’t leave me alone. Your husband always goes to that liquor shop over there, right?”

Jun nodded.

“Well, that client was trying to get me to take the job while I was buying myself some good whiskey. He’s telling me he has more details, describing the job and how I was the only one who could do it, all while I’m shopping for whiskey and snacks, and I’m telling him to leave me the hell alone. I don’t wanna take this job and he’s getting on my nerves. Then all of a sudden, I’m about to sock this guy in the face when this guy out of the blue, hands me a sketch still in his sketchbook mind you, and says in the most monotone voice, ‘Something like this?’ That chest in the photo is about 90% of what he drew while I guess he was listening to me try to brush this guy off. The guy says that this here is exactly what he was envisioning and he wants that exact design made.”

Jun looked at Ohno with a raised eyebrow and Ohno just looked away, clearly embarrassed that the story is being told to Jun.

“So I take them both back to my shop. We talk about the treasure chest some more and Ohno-sensei agrees to draw it out in better detail so I can make it. And well, we start talking about making things, design, and art and before you know it it’s dark outside and this guy has finished the full workup of the concept. I had to buy him a drink and we’ve been friends ever since. I feel like I can’t call someone with that level of skill anything other than _sensei_.”

“You designed this in the liquor shop?” Jun held the photo and waved it lightly at Ohno.

Ohno only nodded.

“Wow, Satoshi…” breathed Jun in total admiration, his large light brown eyes sparkling as they widened as they stared deeply at his beloved. “I knew from the day that I met you that you were an artist, but I never realized how skilled you were…You just heard the description and drew it…”

Ohno was reddening to his ears at the compliments and attention. “Jun, stop…you’re ‘mbarassing me…” Ohno stammered.

Juumonji, taking pity on Ohno, decided to change the subject.

“So, Junka-san,” he began, diverting the attention from Ohno.

“Yes?”

“Did he tell you why he brought you here today?”

Jun gave a small friendly glare towards Ohno.

“No, he didn’t. He said it was a secret,” Jun pursed his lips.

“He didn’t?” Juumonji seemed surprised, making Jun all the more suspicious, wondering if Ohno was going to drop a bomb like quitting his job as a fisherman and becoming an artisan. Not that Jun minded. He loved Ohno regardless of his profession and would do anything to support him. “Well, then, maybe I should go get it?”

Ohno nodded.

“It?” Jun asked in bewilderment. “What’s he talking about? What is this ‘it’?”

“Jun,” Ohno said, sitting Jun on the bench near the door.

“What? Satoshi? What’s going on?” Jun was freaking out and Ohno could only turn the corners of his mouth up in the slightest of smirks as he marveled at how cute Jun was.

Juumonji returned with a simple white box, which he handed to Ohno.

“Jun,” Ohno said slowly. “I know I’ve been working a lot of hours and I wasn’t really treating you well, but I want you to know that I never stopped thinking about you. The truth is, I felt bad that I was always working too, so I asked Juumonji-sensei to help me with a project of my own.”

Jun seemed to panic, his eyes darting left and right as he tried to make sense and anticipate where Ohno was going with this.

“So, remember how there was that fire back in Tokyo while you were still living there?” They both knew it was false but Jun nodded to play along. “We lost everything, didn’t we?”

“Yes,” Jun breathed.

“I always felt bad that you never had anything nice…”

“Satoshi, it’s because you used your money to bring me here and I don’t care about that—” Jun continued, as this was part of the story.

“Well, since I was working so much overtime, I told myself that the next thing I worked on as an artist would be something for you. So here.”

Ohno handed Jun the box. Jun looked wary, but accepted the box lifted the cover to reveal a wooden jewelry box the color of pale café au lait. On the top face was a tree on top of a hill and two familiar silhouettes, one of a certain fisherman with a distinctive hairstyle and the other of a long haired beauty in a billowing dress facing each other, holding hands with the petals or leaves from the tree blowing about in the background. In the bottom right corner, engraved in what Jun recognized to be Ohno’s penmanship were three characters.

[ 絢夏 × 智 ]

“Junka and Satoshi,” breathed Jun, running his fingers over the characters delicately.

He held the box up so he could see the side panel and saw that where the front clasp was, were words written in Ohno’s calligraphy handwriting.

「百年先も 愛を誓うよ 君は僕の全てさ

君がいれば どんな未来も ずっと輝いているから」

_Even one hundred years from now, I pledge my love to you because you are my everything to me._

_And because as long as I have you, whatever future awaits will be surely be shining bright._

“This is the lyrics from that song by that idol group _Storm_ …” Jun could feel the emotions beginning to well up.

“It’s actually a music box,” Ohno pointed out.

“I loved music boxes when I was a kid…” Jun breathed happily in nostalgia.

“I know,” Ohno smiled as Jun flipped the box over so he could crank the tiny metal piece.

When he flipped it over, something made a thud inside the box. Jun looked at Ohno. “I’m sorry! Did a break it?!” Jun paled.

“I don’t think so. Why don’t you just open it?” Ohno encouraged.

_He’s so cute!_ Ohno wanted to burn this scene into his memory so he could sketch it later.

Jun nodded and carefully lifted the clasp so he could open the box. When he did, the chorus of the song immediately started to play in the familiar droplet like tones of the music box. Jun closed his eyes and started humming along to the song for a few bars before opening his eyes to examine his gift. The music box had a mirror inside, a small see through compartment to the left that Jun could see the delicate mechanism playing the song and to the right in the main cavity was a small jewelry box. It was a royal blue velvet box.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to Ohno and handed him the music box. “Can I open it?” he asked pointing to the smaller velvet box.

Ohno nodded, so Jun carefully picked the box out of the wooden box and popped it open, the box snapping to the open position to reveal a ring with two large gemstones, one light blue and one a darker blue, cut into the shape of hearts, fitted together at the cleavage of the hearts. Surrounding the hearts was a setting of leaves embedded with sparkling clear stones.

“Oh, Satoshi…” Jun gasped, taking it out of the box to admire the ring, which was engraved inside the band in what Jun could see was also a perfect replica of Ohno’s handwriting.

[ 心から愛を込めて — 智 ]

_With all my love — Satoshi_

Ohno set the box down on the bench and carefully took the ring from Jun’s hand.

“Allow me,” he said, carefully fitting the ring onto Jun’s left ring finger, which to Jun’s surprise fit perfectly.

Jun suddenly became aware of Ohno’s head leaning in and placing a faint kiss on his lips. When Ohno pulled away, Jun’s eyelashes were fluttering and he could see that Jun was flushed across his cheeks.

“Juumonji-sensei,” Ohno held his hand out to shake the master artisan, who came back around from his worktable to shake Ohno’s hand. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“Let me see it on the hand of the lovely Junka-san,” he said putting his glasses on from their hanging strap about his neck. “Ahh, beautiful…it looks perfect on you, Junka-san.”

“Thank you, I love it,” Jun smiled, holding his hand out. “Juumonji-sensei, this ring and the music box are both truly works of art. I will treasure them both.”

“You should thank your husband. He came to me weeks ago with full sketches of both and demanded that I drop everything to work on his project. Of course, who am I to refuse the great Ohno-sensei and with such promising sketches! I knew it would be difficult to make all of the components, but it was the most rewarding challenge.”

“You started this weeks ago?” Jun asked.

“Yeah,” Ohno said bashfully. “I knew it would take some time to do the box and get all the pieces.”

“When did you have time to do this?”

“Well, I tried to do some work on my days off, but most of it was by phone or email between Juumonji-sensei and me. We went to buy the stones together for your ring because I wanted to inspect them myself. This lighter one is Aquamarine, said to be the talisman to protect sailors and those who travel by, over, or near water, so I thought that you could think of me and keep me safe. This darker one looks bluish in here because we’re sitting next to the window, but in different lighting conditions like where it’s darker in the workshop, it will look purple—”

“Alexandrite,” breathed Jun in awe that the other stone would turn his favorite color.

“Oh, you already know of it?” Ohno replied a little disappointedly as he was hoping to surprise Jun.

“Just that it’s a color changing stone and it’s a rare stone,” Jun replied.

“Well, maybe you didn’t know that it’s supposed to bring good fortune and love,” smiled Ohno.

“Something to protect my man at sea and something to bring fortune and romance,” Jun smiled back. “It’s beautiful. You designed the ring yourself too, right?”

“Yes, originally it was a little more complex but when we got the stones, Juumonji-sensei suggested a simpler design so the stones could be the focus.”

Jun turned to the artisan. “That must have been you on the phone that called and asked for Satoshi.”

“Yes and I knew I had to hang up when I heard it was you,” the old man bowed bashfully. “Sorry, Junka-san. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but I couldn’t very well ruin the surprise…I promised, you know…”

“Juumonji-sensei, how did you replicate Satoshi’s handwriting in the wood and the ring?” Jun shaking his head that he was clearly not bothered the slightest by the phone call.

“Very carefully!” the artisan laughed.

“Jun!” Ohno groaned. “He’s a master artisan. Something like that is a piece of cake—”

“Actually Ohno-sensei, it wasn’t as easy as my other engraving jobs because you have a lot of quirkiness to your characters—more than I’m used to. And you wanted them in a brush calligraphy style, so I had to blow up your words, then grid them, and practice a bunch of times before I felt comfortable to freehand the real thing. And as you know, I don’t use those fancy machines to engrave, so everything was done by hand. The thing I tried to capture was the playfulness and whimsicalness of the strokes and that’s not so easy to do in metal.”

“It was exactly how Satoshi writes, sensei,” Jun praised.

“What about you Ohno-sensei? Any flaws?” Juumonji challenged Ohno to examine his work.

Ohno picked up the music box first and examined it. When he was checking the words, Jun and Juumonji watched as Ohno wrote each character in the air with a brush that clearly only he could see. But what was very baffling was that the two observers could swear that they could see the characters being written in the air as Ohno compared what his muscle memory of his right hand told with the engraving on the box, which he felt with his left hand.

“Here comes Satoshi world,” commented Jun, noting that Ohno’s eyes had now become extremely focused on the analysis of the craftsmanship. “I do apologize, sensei.”

“Not at all. I am used to it. Ohno-sensei and I have a deep respect for each other’s work and I wouldn’t trust anyone other than him to scrutinize the quality as he has such high standards for himself.”

Ohno held out his hand for the ring, which Jun gave to him. After a few long minutes, he handed the ring back to Jun and looked up at the artisan who was waiting patiently for his criticism. “No, it’s perfect,” Ohno agreed. “It’s exactly what I asked for.”

The older artisan breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead with his handkerchief.

“Satoshi, you didn’t inspect the final products before today?” Jun asked, admiring the ring on his hand.

“No, how could I have? I was working this whole time and then we got into the fight, so I couldn’t. He emailed me this morning that he finished and that I could pick it up today and it just so happened that we made up last night, so I could bring you today to pick it up. But I trust Juumonji-sensei’s work. I knew it would be perfect when you opened it,” Ohno replied confidently. “And see? I had nothing to worry about.”

“I’m sorry I contributed to the fight,” Jun apologized, sweeping Ohno’s bangs to the side and kissing him lightly on the uninjured cheek. “You were doing this for me and I’m sorry for the way I acted as well. This is a beautiful gift, Satoshi. I don’t think I’ve ever received something this nice ever in my life. Thank you.”

Jun gave Ohno a soft smile, not a radiant one, but a subtle smile that he reserved only for Ohno.

“You are my wife and I want everyone to know it,” Ohno said earnestly, intertwining his fingers with Jun’s as he brought Jun close for an embrace that made Jun’s heart race like a teenager feeling the high of a first love.

+

After they left the artisan’s workshop, they picked up some alcohol, some vegetables, and essentials before heading home together. Jun pulled into the driveway and just as he and Ohno were unloading the last of the groceries and Jun’s present, Aiba arrived home in his large work van.

“Oiiiii, Junka-san!” Aiba waved. “Come on, boy…get my bag…” Aiba only had a single crutch now and gestured to his golden retriever buddy to help him with the bag.

“Good afternoon, Aiba-sensei,” Jun waved, shutting the car door and handing the bags to Ohno who was brushing some dirt off the seat. Ohno stuck his hand out and waved to Aiba. “You’re home rather early. Who is this helping you today?”

The golden retriever instantly headed for Ohno, leaning his head into Ohno’s leg begging for a pat to the head, which Ohno immediately indulged.

“Goma!” Aiba warned the sesame seed colored furry service support. “Come here! Leave Ohno-san alone.”

“It’s fine,” Ohno laughed, ruffling the dog’s fluffy ears. “I don’t mind animals. They always seem to come to me.”

“Goma, come here!” Aiba, patted his pocket. Goma looked back at his master and went back to leaning heavily into Ohno for more pets.

“So sorry, Junka-san,” Aiba nodded in apology. “You guys look like you’re unloading the groceries. Goma is still learning not to be so friendly. He’s easily distracted and that’s why he was released from the service dog cohort. Come on, Goma!” Aiba urged, but Goma was already sitting down next to Ohno having his belly rubbed, Aiba’s work bag already forgotten in favor of Ohno’s affection.

“It’s alright. We just got back and we already took the perishable stuff inside,” Jun smiled, leaning against the car door.

“Ooh! Is that a new ring?!” Aiba’s eyes widened immediately spotting the latest addition to Jun’s finger wrapped around a lighter bag of groceries. “Those stones on your ring are massive!”

“Oh,” Jun blushed, shrinking into his shoulders. “You’re so observant, Aiba-sensei. Satoshi gave it to me as a gift.”

Aiba looked at Ohno who looked up from his sitting position. “That’s a really nice ring for your wife,” Aiba nodded in approval. “You have good taste.”

“Satoshi designed it,” Jun smiled shyly.

“Wow! This is beautiful! It looks great on you, Junka-san,” Aiba praised, peering closer to see the intricate details and cut more carefully.

“What looks great?” a voice came from behind Aiba.

“Agent Ninomiya,” Jun smiled cordially. “It’s been a while. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Nino!” Aiba spun around and threw one arm chummily around the shorter man dressed in the service uniform of a refrigeration company. “You’re back! Check out Junka-san’s ring that Ohno-san designed for her.”

Nino peered at the sparkling bauble that now decorated Jun’s left ring finger. “That _is_ a _MASSIVE_ ring.”

“That’s what I said,” laughed Aiba. “Ohno-san sure knows how to treat his wife and make her feel loved!”

“Goma,” Nino said sharply, staring the dog down. “It’s time for you to go to _work_. _Help_ Aiba-sensei. Go take his _bag_ _inside_.” To everyone’s surprise the dog stood up, shook himself off and grabbed Aiba’s bag, trotting happily through the gate into the animal entrance.

“How come that dog listens to Nino?” Jun commented.

“I have no idea,” moaned Aiba. “Anyway, see you later. I gotta go feed the animals!” Aiba waved, leaving Nino standing outside with Ohno and Jun.

“Would you like to come inside?” Jun offered, opening the front door to let Ohno in first. “We’re having _niku-jaga_ for dinner…”

“Yes, we need to talk,” Nino said in a hushed tone, following Ohno in. Jun locked the car and front door.

“Should I close the curtains?” Jun asked.

“I’ll get them,” Ohno offered. “Why don’t you put away the stuff that needs to be put away in the kitchen?”

“Oh, right,” Jun agreed. He washed his hands and took a clean glass from the dish rack. “Iced coffee, Agent?”

“Oh, thanks,” Nino replied, sitting at the dining table as Jun filled the glass with ice and cold brew coffee. He set the glass in front of Nino and pushed the tin of fancy cookies towards Nino.

“Help yourself,” Jun bowed, removing the cover and returning to the counter where he was putting the groceries away. “What’s up?”

Nino simply observed as Jun quickly put everything away and laid all the shopping bags flat in a pile on the counter. Ohno had closed the curtains and was sitting next to Nino waiting patiently. Jun put on his apron and looked to be preparing to cook dinner when Nino interrupted his process.

“Jun,” Nino began, running his finger along the side of his glass of coffee. “There is now a bounty on you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _To be continued..._
> 
> _A little bit of passion and ire, a little bit of sexy times, a little bit of saccharine Juntoshi lovey-dovey domestic life, and now, Nino's back in town with some bad news... Until next time, friends!_


	10. Power Up Your Femininity (女子力を上げろ)

_“There’s now a bounty on you.”_

Jun was frozen in place as he seemed to be processing the supervisory agent’s quiet words echoing distantly in his mind.

“Did you hear me?” Nino pressed. “There’s a bounty on Matsumoto Jun.”

“A bounty?” Jun swallowed, the color draining from his face.

“Come sit down, Jun,” Ohno stood up and placed his hand on Jun’s back and guided him to sit down at the table.

“A bounty?” Jun repeated in disbelief.

“Breathe, it’s okay…” Ohno said calmly, squeezing Jun’s hand reassuringly. Jun took a deep breath and looked at Nino expectantly.

“Is…um….” Jun squeaked. “Is, ahem…uh…is the bounty for my life?” Jun managed to choke out his deepest fear.

“Fortunately, no, it’s not—not to our knowledge,” Nino replied, taking a sip of his coffee. “The bounty is for your capture—alive. 5 million yen for your unharmed capture. Up to 2 million yen for information leading to your capture. Whoever put the bounty on you wants you alive and unharmed.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Ohno asked hopefully.

“Well, having a bounty out on you is never a good thing,” Nino clarified stoically. “But given a bounty dead or alive, or only alive, it’s definitely preferable that the conditions state that Jun would have to be delivered alive in order to receive the bounty. At least we know that they’re not going to kill him at the first chance that they get and there’s no incentive for the bounty hunters to kill you while trying to capture you. It also makes us wonder though, _why_ the hell do they need you alive?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ohno asked, placing his arm protectively around Jun.

Nino poked at the stack of coasters sitting on the table as he paused for a moment. “The reason we put Matsumoto Jun into protective custody as Ohno Junka was because he was going to be called as a witness to testify that he saw the defendants engaging in illegal activities at the time from his veranda. If you kill this particular witness, then you effectively remove the problem. But by putting a stipulation that there are two rewards—one generous reward if you capture Matsumoto Jun and bring him unharmed and another for information leading to the capture of Matsumoto Jun—it sounds like they need him alive for something, or they are planning to do something to him like harvest his organs, torture him, or sell him to the highest bidder as a sex slave or something—”

“Oh god!” Jun gasped and turned into Ohno’s shoulder in a moment of raw emotion. Ohno wrapped his arms in a firm embrace around Jun while he glared angrily at Nino. The quiet fisherman held his wife who was terribly upset by the news.

“I’m sorry,” Nino apologized, seeing how his words affected Jun and now feeling like he could have delivered that message with a little more tact. “I’m sorry, but this is a possibility you need to prepare for. If you have a DOA bounty—dead or alive—we normally try to lock the witness down and place them under 24 hour guarded custody while we also try to track down the people who put the bounty on you. But it’s very restrictive, not 100% infallible, and we don’t normally allow spouses or family to come—too dangerous and too many variables. The location is secret, the witness cannot have any visitors, and anyone who approaches the location without authorization and not through the permissible channels is shot on sight. And there’s a possibility that you could be there for years. It’s really a last resort that I hope we never have to employ to keep the both of you safe.” Nino hated this part of the explanation. He was never any good at being warm and empathetic, so he did his best to fake it. But people often started to break down and cry at this point, which made him uncomfortable.

“So what are my options, then?” Jun sniffled wiping a stray tear and turning to face Nino with resolve. “It’s not a DOA bounty, so I can stay here, right?”

“Correct,” Nino nodded, unwrapping a fancy cookie in front of him. “We know that someone in Tokyo has put the bounty out. That’s what some of our undercover agents have told us. We know the value of the reward, what they want, and who to contact. We just don’t know how much they know and if they know where you might be. It’s likely that this early in the game, people are still looking where you were last seen, in Tokyo. These are the photos that are circulating of Matsumoto Jun in the underworld.”

Nino took out a A4 sheet of paper and pointed to two printed photos of Jun. One was taken several years ago. His hair was short and spiked. His eyebrows were knitted down and his mouth was in an open shout of vindication, basking in the adrenaline and glory as his team had just won the bowling tournament. The photo was from a local magazine that had written up how a group of drunk young kids had beat the reigning retirees league. The other photo was from his driver’s license, stoic and simple. His hair was dyed a light brown, it was very short and barely styled, and it showed just enough detail for people to see what he looked like under normal conditions.

“Oh, is this what you looked like before?” Ohno commented to himself, taking in the masculinity of Jun. “You look like a really masculine guy. Strong jawline, very pronounced Adam’s apple, heavy eyebrows, intense stare…Compared to now…” Ohno gave Jun the once over. “You’re just so feminine-looking…"

“Really?” Jun laughed, maintaining his femininity.

“Yeah, even I have difficulty believing this is you in the photo,” Ohno touched Jun on the cheek. “This person being photographed in the moment of victory looks like a guy, no matter how you look at it. You look like a jock or like you’re one of the bros. I mean, is that person inside of you?”

“Um, well, possibly?” Jun shrugged. “That photo was taken a few years ago with my friends and some dudes we met in a bar and we decided to go drunken bowling one night. We entered a tournament and won so we got photographed and won some prize money and free bowling tickets. It was just a bunch of dudes hanging out on a Saturday night….”

“If you didn’t know my Jun, would you think this person in the photo was my wife?” Ohno asked Nino who was swirling the ice around his glass.

“To be honest, it’s a stretch. Even with some base similarities, Matsumoto Jun is a man and Ohno Junka seems like a woman by all accounts, especially if I knew her personally in this town,” Nino admitted. “If someone asked me if I had seen the man, Matsumoto Jun, in these parts, I probably would tell them I haven’t. Especially since the male version of has these prominent moles covering his face and Ohno Junka conceals all these moles, she has thinner eyebrows in a completely different shape, always has a full face of makeup on, and by all accounts acts like your wife.”

“So the solution to keep Jun here is to have people know him well enough so they can attest to him being a woman, then?” Ohno said. “So when people start looking for him and they come to town asking around, the people in this town vouch for him.”

“Yes, that would be an acceptable solution for the time being,” Nino nodded. “I would say lay low, but also Ohno Junka needs to establish her presence here as being ‘a normal housewife’ and fully known and accepted by the town. That ring I now see on your hand is a good first step.”

“So, I should take him to the company beach day, then?” Ohno asked.

“What ‘company beach day’?” Jun and Nino asked in unison.

“Well, every year we close down for a weekend at the end of summer and all head down to Okinawa for a beach day barbecue,” Ohno explained. “Everyone brings their wives, no kids, but we all hang out at the beach, eat some meat, drink a ton of beers, and spend the night on a luxury boat which we spend the next day on. We get to hang out on the boat, we can go scuba diving or fishing, or chill on the pool deck, and then we have a nice dinner and the boat drops us back off here at around midnight in our home port. Normally, I’d just go along by myself and I was gonna tell the boss that we can’t go this year because you said—”

“No, I would advise you to go,” Nino approved. “The bounty changes things. You need to seem like you have nothing to hide. This is a good opportunity for your wife to meet other wives and for the other fishermen to see you both in a different context. You need to make it so there is no question in their mind: Ohno Junka is 100% female. She is your wife not brought here under any suspicious circumstances. She is perfectly normal and they want to invest in the both of you.”

“Invest?” Jun repeated slowly.

“Yes, if they like you and accept you, they’ll invite you to things, want to get to know you better,” Nino rambled. “Invest in the relationship. That sort of thing. The bounty hunters aren’t going to hurt those around you—a.k.a. your friends and coworkers—if they are certain that there is no way in hell that Ohno Junka is Matsumoto Jun. It’s just not worth the risk. Every bounty hunter evaluates the risk of bringing in the target. Bounty hunting takes time and resources like money and patience. Casualties along the way mean you might get arrested or get thrown in jail and that’s just not worth it for them. Anyway, when is this beach day?”

“Next weekend,” Ohno mumbled, stuffing a cookie in his mouth.

“Next weekend!” cried Jun. “That’s too soon! I don’t have enough time. I don’t even have anything to wear and—”

“Relax, Jun. We’ll just call that YP guy and you can buy some clothes for the occasion and it’ll all be good,” Ohno replied calmly. “Right, Agent? We can just call him or go to the store, right?”

“Yes, he can make a house call or you can go to his shop,” Nino nodded and stood up to leave. “Anyway, you know what to do in the meantime. I’ll be in touch when I have more info.” The agent took his leave and let himself out.

“I think we should go get you some beach clothes,” Ohno nuzzled Jun affectionately, wrapping his arms around the front of Jun’s body while he kissed the side of Jun’s jawline. “I’d love to see you in a skimpy little bikini—”

“Satoshi!” Jun squeaked, pulling away in embarrassment but Ohno refused to let him go.

“You heard the agent,” Ohno whispered huskily, pulling at Jun’s scarf around his neck and reaching down to lift Jun’s shirt up from behind him. “We need to get you some more feminine clothes and you will charm them all….and I will show off my beautiful, hot wife…”

“Don’t turn me on,” moaned Jun. “Let’s go shopping…”

Jun’s efforts to get Ohno back to the car were largely fruitless and they ended up having sex right there much to Jun’s dismay when he realized how messy sex could be with him lying on their dining table could be. They decided to make an appointment with the shop owner for the next morning and instead would enjoy each other’s company for the rest of the evening.

+

_Meanwhile, next door…_

“Come on, Goma,” Aiba guided the dog back into the house after a leisurely walk to the park and back. He wiped the dog’s feet and gave him an affectionate pat.

“ _Okaeri_ ,” a soft voice greeted.

“Nino!” Aiba hobbled over excitedly to see the agent sitting on his living room couch with his laptop. “You’re here!”

“Yeah, I’m done with my business next door for now, so I came to you know….” Nino trailed off and pointed to the Chinese steamer baskets on the kitchen counter.

“You ordered Chinese for us!” Aiba beamed, flopping down next to Nino and kissing him gently on the cheek. “This is from my favorite place, Golden House’s Red Dragon!”

“Yeah, I felt bad that I left without properly saying goodbye to you,” mumbled Nino. “Especially after you fixed my wound and I didn’t come back for awhile….then you saw me here to talk to Ohno Satoshi and his wife. I have an early morning tomorrow, but from now until then—”

“You can stay the night?” Aiba asked hopefully.

“Yeah,” Nino nodded, closing his computer and turning to Aiba. “Ma-kun, I’m sorry I’m so shitty to you all the time.” Nino leaned in slowly and placed his lips onto Aiba’s left cheek. “Is Sho-kun going to come home soon? We can wait for him to come home and eat together?”

“He’s working late tonight on a story with Ariyoshi-san,” Aiba explained apologetically. “But it does mean we can eat now and have the house to ourselves until about 2 am. Sho-chan took his car today so I don’t think he will be home early. He only takes the car when he thinks he’s going to be out after the last train.”

“Oh, so just the two of us?” Nino confirmed.

“Just the two of us!” Aiba smiled. “Come on! Let’s eat! I’m starving!”

Nino listened as Aiba chatted excitedly about his day. The veterinarian always narrated in full detail about each of his patients and how they came to require his care and what he did for them. Aiba’s life was full of smiles and joy, while Nino’s was dark and grisly. That was not to say that Aiba never saw sadness or grief because he did. Aiba always took it hard when he had to put down a patient or when he was called to investigate or give an opinion on animal abuse or neglect. However, Nino could see that most of Aiba’s life was sunny and that suited the man in front of him well enough. Nino’s life had taken a different path and he saw quite a bit of death and tragedy on a regular basis. Nino had killed people and people had died under his watch, sometimes to no fault of his own, but rather the impulsiveness and recklessness of the people he had been charged to protect.

While Nino would be hard pressed to ever admit he was vulnerable since he worked so hard to maintain a stoic and uncaring exterior, Aiba was his soft, healing light. Nino could be cold, sharp-tongued, and mercilessly cruel when it came to his work. He was trained to kill people on sight no matter who they were. He had been part of a firing squad that executed a 16-year old boy who had committed heinous sexual crimes, one that finally lead to murder, against children who lived in an orphanage near his home. Nino had sometimes been ordered undercover to charm wives of powerful men to gather intel to further an investigation or to bring corrupt people to justice. Everything was well within the scope of his job and he woke up each day prepared to do it all over again. Being a supervisory agent, Nino now had the authority to make difficult decisions and he had to live with certain decisions he had made that were the best outcome at the time but he still felt morally conflicted about. Being someone from a shadowy lifestyle dripping in the mire and murk of the dark-side of the human condition, even if his work was government-sanctioned, Nino felt that he did not deserve such a luxury and indulgence like happiness.

Every time that Nino tried to harden himself and close himself to the world, Aiba was there, shining his light onto him and drawing him into his gravitational pull of sunshine and pleasure. Tonight was no different. After dinner, Aiba always suggested that they watch a movie or drama together upstairs in his bedroom to relax and about half an hour in, Aiba’s hand would wander onto Nino’s thigh.

“You can put it in if you use a condom,” Nino said not breaking his focus from the television screen.

“Then pass me one from the nightstand on your side,” Aiba whispered breathily as he took off his shirt.

Nino looked over at him with a curiously raised eyebrow. “You purposely put them on my side after I left?”

“Maybe?” Aiba smiled mischievously. “You keep your gun in there even though I tell you to lock it up downstairs.”

Nino rolled his eyes and opened the drawer. Sure enough, there were a box of condoms next to his gun cleaning kit.

“Are they all there?” Aiba asked, taking off the rest of his clothes, when he saw that Nino was just staring into the drawer.

“Huh?”

“Oh, stop pretending like you don’t know what I mean. I know you count them—”

“I most certainly do not count how many condoms are left!” Nino countered hotly.

“Satisfied?” Aiba asked with a confident smile. “You know I don’t sleep around with anyone else, so I don’t know why you feel the need to count the condoms.”

“Okay, you’re right,” Nino tossed Aiba a condom and proceeded to take off his shirt. “I trust you completely but I can’t help but do it.”

When Nino was down to his pants and clearly taking his time with his belt, Aiba began to kiss Nino from behind, first on the shoulders and wherever he could see Nino’s scars. Nino had quite a few scars on his torso and arms including several gunshot and stab wound scars and shrapnel scars on his legs and back. One of Nino’s most prominent scars was on the right side of his chest, two bullet wounds 3 centimeters apart in a diagonal fashion much like the face of the two on a dice. The older he got, the more dangerous his assignments and missions became and as a result, the more injuries he suffered on the job. Nino had resigned that he could probably never find a normal girl to settle down with—after all, what kind of normal Japanese girl would want to sleep with his scarred body?

Aiba Masaki was no girl and just maybe he was the person Nino was meant to be with. He was Nino’s childhood friend who clearly had quite the soft spot for the snarky agent. His rough fingers always liked to trace Nino’s scars and he always made it a point to lick and kiss the old ones as if he knew on a subconscious level that showering them with affection made them hurt just a little less in the moment when Nino felt most vulnerable. Nino never asked Aiba why the lanky veterinarian liked to kiss and touch his scars, but when he felt most vulnerable about the condition of his body, Aiba’s hot kisses and the warmth radiating from his large, sinewy body wrapped around Nino’s smaller frame somehow always made Nino feel safe and loved.

“Does it feel good?” Aiba asked, kissing Nino’s pouting lips and thrusting in and out of the agent who clung to the sheets to keep from falling off the bed as past experience and a dislocated shoulder that had been embarrassing to explain had once taught him.

“So good, Ma-kun,” gasped Nino, reaching forward to wrap his arms around Aiba’s neck and reciprocate the kiss. “You can go harder…I know you want to…”

Aiba was an absolute beast in the bed. He liked to bite and claw at his prey, subjecting Nino to extended and extensive sessions of kissing, nibbling, groping, and penetrative sex before he was able to attain his climax. His abnormally animal-level libido that drove him through these sessions were as if his own survival depended on his ability to procreate with Nino. He constantly put Nino’s stamina to the test and on more than one occasion Nino had passed out from his own climax briefly only to find that Aiba had still kept on going until the veterinarian was ready to finish. Nino would be sore the next day, but there was no one who made him feel quite like Aiba Masaki did.

+

_The next day…_

“Welcome, Satoshi-san, Junka-san,” Yamashita greeted, opening the glass door for the couple. “Right on time. Please come in!”

Jun and Ohno nodded and entered holding hands.

“Satoshi-san?” Jun asked. “Since when did you two become so chummy?”

“Well, we’re friends now since I bought you that dress,” Ohno explained nonchalantly.

“So what are we looking for today?” Yamashita asked cheerfully.

“Well, we’re going on a beach weekend,” Jun began shyly. “And I need some beach wear and a bathing suit.”

“And more pretty clothes in general,” Ohno added.

“But—” protested Jun.

“My money and I want to spend it on you,” Ohno smiled kissing Jun on the cheek, and cinching his waist closer with a playful grab.

“Excellent! Well, we have some new arrivals for swimwear, some nice one pieces and—” Yamashita said excitedly.

“Um, I’d like to look more like a woman! As much as possible!” Jun expelled as if it took all his energy and courage to blurt it out to the only other two occupants of the store. He looked at Yamashita. “I’d like to be 100% convincing as a woman in this bathing suit. I need everyone at this event to believe that I am a woman beyond a shadow of a doubt. I’m prepared to wear and do anything to look it.”

“Let’s have you strip down to your underwear,” Yamashita pointed to the open dressing room. It was 2 hours before the store was scheduled to open so there was no chance of anyone seeing Jun in the dressing room area.

“Okay,” Jun nodded, stepping out of his flats and onto the raised platform. Jun unzipped his skirt and allowed it to pool at his ankles. He pulled his top off and stood on the platform exposed to Yamashita and Ohno wearing a black bra and panty set, the same one that Ohno had picked out during their first encounter with the stylish shop owner.

“Hmm….” Yamashita walked around Jun chewing on the end of a pencil as he made some mental notes. “Step out of those clothes. Stand up straight so I can see you.”

Ohno leaned down and picked up the clothes and laid them onto a chair while Jun straightened his posture.

“The biggest problem for Junka-san right now as a man dressed as a woman is the restrictive wardrobe,” the shop owner began. “If you need to convince people that you’re a woman, then you need to show the assets of a woman, namely breasts and crotch area. They need to know that you have boobs and your crotch is flat. Right now,” Yamashita pointed at Jun’s crotch. “Basically, you can’t wear anything revealing or tight because you haven’t committed to having a flat crotch. We’re gonna need to tuck everything in, you’ll need to have some special underwear to keep everything secure, and then you’ll be able to appear as though you’re a woman down there. The bust is an easy fix. We can make it look like you have cleavage relatively easily with a pushup bra and some padding in the right places.”

“Is it um, painful…to keep everything tucked in?” Jun asked nervously.

“It takes some getting used to as it’s pretty uncomfortable in the beginning,” Yamashita replied nonchalantly. “But if you do it every day until your weekend, you should be good to go. Are you interested?”

Jun looked to Ohno who was looking at a rack of bathing suits. “Satoshi?”

“Up to you, my love,” Ohno smiled, picking out a frilly light blue bikini with a bunch of sunflowers. “This is cute.”

“There’s hardly any material, Satoshi,” Jun blushed. 

“I will show you how to create the base look for your crotch and your bust and then you should be able to easily wear any of those skimpy things your husband likes,” winked Yamashita.

“Okay,” Jun nodded.

“Wonderful!” Yamashita clapped his hands ecstatically. “Satoshi-san, you can pick out bathing suits!”

“I’m on it!” Ohno waved.

“Junka-san, you are coming with me!” Yamashita held his hand out to Jun to help him down. “Satoshi-san, put the ones you want Junka-san to try on on that rack by the mirror over there!”

“Got it!”

Jun was shoved into a dressing room while Yamashita washed his hands in a nearby sink that Jun had not noticed. Yamashita used his arm to pull back a cute lacy curtain that revealed the tools and parts that Jun would need to pull off his look. Going a million words a minute, the shop owner pulled down Jun’s underwear and with gloved hands, began to show Jun how to pull off the flawless female crotch. There was no time to feel uncomfortable as his genitals were manipulated, the gaff garment slid up to secure everything into place, and he soon had an adhesive bra that looked like a butterfly with a shoelace in the middle cinching his chest into cleavage.

“This is a pushup bra that’s actually designed to give you the illusion of cleavage,” Yamashita explained, tightening the silicone cups together causing Jun to gasp in surprise. “Wait there and let me bring you a bikini.”

Yamashita returned with an armload of bathing suits and thrust them onto the nearest rack. The first one Jun tried on was white and navy blue. The bottom was simple and navy blue with a few gold accents on the waist and the top was off-white with a navy blue satin ribbon that tied in a bow in the front held up by thin navy blue ties. The set came with a frilly layered skirt that tied on the side with the same navy stretchy ribbon.

“Wow, you look smashing!” Ohno smiled.

“I know right!” Yamashita nodded excitedly. “This is just the first one!”

Ohno took off his shoes and stepped into the dressing area with just his socks. He spun Jun around so they could both look at bikini-wearing Jun in the mirror. “Don’t you look sexy?” he smiled, undoing the skirt which fell to the floor. “Oh, and no bulge.”

“You seem disappointed,” Jun pointed out.

“Only because I love that part about you,” Ohno kissed Jun’s ear and reached for Jun’s bust to give it a round of experimental squeezes. “Oh, this feels real too.”

“Satoshi, stop squeezing my fake boobs,” Jun shivered from the stimulation and cool air conditioning flowing through the boutique and then whispered, “It’s turning me on….”

“Oh, sorry,” Ohno stopped and chuckled. “Tenchou, looks good. I think we should have my wife try them all on and we can get a few. What do you think?”

“Yes! Oh, Junka-san! You have such a beautiful body for swimsuits! You should really be a model! You even have this hourglass figure like a woman! Tiny waist, curvy hips, soft thighs!” gushed Yamashita. “And your face, absolutely stunning! You’re a lucky man, Satoshi-san!”

Jun was forced to try on 21 bathing suits before Ohno decided on a floral tropical printed one piece with thick shoulder straps and a plunging v-neck cut and mini skirted bottom and a solid teal classic halter bikini that hardly left anything to the imagination. Jun was allowed to pick one of his choosing and he went with a purple gingham off-shoulder bikini that exposed his long torso and came with a matching bottom and A-line mini skirt to cover himself up.

Ohno also lavished Jun with a new wardrobe which included clothes for their beach weekend that included a summer dress, some casual but more form fitting clothing like short shorts and cute tops. He also invested in some dresses, silk neck scarves, mini skirts, and fashionable clothes for his wife to look his best when running his errands about town.

“Satoshi, I don’t need all these clothes,” Jun whispered as Ohno lecherously ogled his wife as Jun changed into the clothes that he came in.

“Yes, you do if you’re going to convince people that you’re a woman. You need to be seen around in the last days of summer so people only associate you with being a woman,” Ohno licked his lips hungrily before Jun covered up his torso much to Ohno’s disappointment.

“Satoshi-san, will you be taking these clothes with you today or shall I send them by post?” Yamashita called.

“Actually, you can just put them in a box and we’ll take them in the box. Probably easier than you having to put them into a bunch of shopping bags, right?” Ohno called back, helping Jun put his shoes back on like a prince to his Cinderella.

“Will do!”

Jun’s expansion pack for his new wardrobe and “female commitment accessories” ended up being 160,000 yen, which Ohno carried to the car happily as if he had just bought himself new fishing gear or art supplies.

“Why are you smirking to yourself?” Jun asked, taking the drivers seat.

“Because I get to look at you in all these clothes, especially this new set of sexy underwear and bathing suits,” Ohno bounced happily in the passenger seat.

+

_Tuesday…_

“Alright, you guys, Kondo-shachou is doing final headcount for the weekend,” his perky young secretary Mizutani called. She was known to be no-nonsense and efficient, making her the perfect force to manage the daily testosterone circus. The office was bustling with excitement in anticipation of the weekend off paid for by the company. “Ohno-san, will your wife be joining you this weekend?”

The office suddenly became quiet as they all looked at Ohno who was filling out some paperwork.

“Ohno, did you remember to invite Junka-san?” Nakai needled him chummily.

“I did,” Ohno pulled away and turned in the cleaning log to the plastic tray and returned the clipboard to the hook on the bulletin board.

“So, is she coming, man, or what?!” The boys started buzzing around Ohno. “I wanna see Junka-san in her bathing suit!” “Me too!” “Me three!” “I bet she looks just gorgeous in a bikini!” “Oi, you’re married, man! You can’t be looking at Junka-san!”

“Ohno-san, shall I put you down for 1 or 2?” Mizutani repeated.

“You can put me down for two this year. I’ll bring my wife,” Ohno replied quietly.

“Alright!” The room erupted in cheers. “We get to see Junka-san!”

“Nakai-san, one,” Mizutani walked past Nakai to Higashiyama.

“Oi! Mizutani!” Nakai stopped her. “What makes you think I don’t have a date this year?”

“Do you?” Mizutani asked, not bothered in the slightest by Nakai’s indignation.

“Well, no,” Nakai admitted. “But you just assumed!”

“I’m in a hurry. I need to confirm the headcount for the food,” she ignored him. “Higashiyama-san, are you bringing your current wife? Or are you divorced yet again? Or a girlfriend, or one of your ex-wives?”

“Oh, I’m going stag this year,” Higashiyama waved. “No drama for me. Maybe I’ll just enjoy the view of Junka-san too.”

Ohno glared at Higashiyama but then his lips curled faintly to show that he did not mind the attention.

+

It was awkward that the entire day surrounded how his fellow fisherman were talking about which wives and girlfriends they were looking forward to seeing. They asked him all sorts of questions like what kind of clothes Junka was planning to bring, if she knew how to swim or if she liked to fish. Ohno simply told them to ask her directly and tried to avoid talking about Jun. By the time he walked home in the heavy humidity and heat, he was extroverted out and wanted nothing more than to have his afternoon beer and drinking snacks with Jun.

“ _Tadaima_!” Ohno called, shuffling into the house that was silent. “Jun!” No response. Shrugging, Ohno went to take a bath, soaking in the tub for a long while before emerging wrinkled, but relaxed, dripping water all over the floor as he walked out towel drying his hair.

“Oh, Satoshi, you’re home already,” Jun smiled, setting a large basket of laundry into the bedroom from the outside.

Ohno looked up and his jaw hung open like a fish as he stared at Jun who was wearing a red crop top and very short jean shorts that showed off a long torso, hourglass figure, long legs and the most supple marshmallowy thighs.

“Holy shit, look at you,” Ohno exclaimed, taking a good look up and down. “Damn!” Ohno bit his lip and then closed the distance between them by wrapping his arms around Jun’s waist.

“Satoshi, I’m sweaty and you’re nice and clean,” Jun resisted, trying to pull away from Ohno who was warm and still damp from the bath.

“Come here,” Ohno breathed, kissing Jun’s neck as he wove his fingers with Jun’s. “Gimme some,” he growled hungrily. Ohno pulled Jun to the bed onto his back to admire how womanly the younger man had become. With the illusion of cleavage, flat crotch, and otherwise exposed body, Jun had become quite the convincing woman. He was getting ready to get some from Jun when the kitchen timer suddenly rang loudly.

“Oh crap! Your grilled corn!” Jun pushed Ohno off of himself and squirmed away, running into the kitchen leaving Ohno groaning to himself in frustration.

After getting dressed, he saw Jun in his skimpy outfit and favorite purple apron mixing the slightly charred corn kernels that had been chopped off the cobs into a bowl of chopped vegetables. The kitchen smelled of lime, onions, and the faintest hint of cilantro.

“Whatcha making?” Ohno purred, placing his arms around Jun’s waist and resting his chin on Jun’s shoulder.

“I saw this recipe for grilled corn salsa on TV this morning and remembered how you said that you wanted to eat Mexican food,” Jun smiled looking to the side to acknowledge Ohno. “And so I decided to make us shrimp tacos and corn salsa tonight.”

“This must be some amazing salsa for you to choose grilled corn over _my_ _salsa_ ,” Ohno kissed Jun on the cheek and went to the refrigerator. “Shall I open the beers?”

“Yes, please!” Jun mixed the avocado chunks into the salsa and added some salt and pepper. Once he set the salsa on the table, he came back to Ohno who was opening the beer and whispered, “It wasn’t between corn salsa and your salsa, it was between corn salsa and burning down the kitchen. I still want your salsa later tonight…”

Jun grabbed the bag of tortilla chips from the counter and winked playfully as he sat down at the table. Ohno smiled to himself and sat down, handing a beer to Jun.

“You look good. Very convincing,” Ohno nodded in approval as he gulped down his beer.

“Thanks,” Jun blushed. “I’m still getting used to putting everything where it belongs.”

“Is it uncomfortable?” Ohno scooped some salsa onto a plate and grabbed a handful of chips.

“A little,” Jun popped a loaded chip into his mouth. Once he finished chewing, he continued, “But honestly, I think if I just keep at it, I’ll be fine by the weekend. I’ve already got everything packed. I’m a little nervous about being around your coworkers for so long though. What if someone sees me?”

“You’ll be fine,” Ohno smiled. “It’s only two days.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jun nodded. “I just gotta be really feminine for 2 days.”

+

The next morning, Ohno was rummaging through the kitchen drawers before work before groaning loudly.

“What’s wrong?” Jun asked, picking up Ohno’s empty coffee mug so he could get ready to wash it.

“I think I’m just about out of eye drops,” Ohno muttered, handing Jun the nearly empty squeeze bottle. “Could you pick some up from the drugstore for me today?”

“Of course,” Jun smiled. “Are you going to be okay without them?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be okay without them for a day, but I need this brand with the green label and gold letters. Dry eye premium that treats pain from dry eyes. You’ll probably need to go to the drugstore not the supermarket to get them.” Ohno placed the last few drops in his eyes and handed Jun the bottle. “Here, take this with you. Can you buy me 2 or 3 boxes?

“Sure,” Jun placed it into his apron pocket and made a note on the small memo pad he kept in the other pocket.

“Thank you, my love,” Ohno kissed Jun on the cheek. “I’m heading out then. I’ll see you later— _ittekimasu_.”

“ _Itterasshai_ , Satoshi,” Jun waved.

+

At around half past 10, Jun set out towards his first stop on his list, the drugstore to pick up Ohno’s eyedrops. They were light and would easily fit into his purse, so Jun planned to get it out of the way and then go grocery shopping. When he arrived at the drugstore, it was fairly empty with only a couple of housewives in the laundry soap section and two businessmen in gray suits perusing the candy aisle. He was less familiar with the drugstore, having bought most of the items for the household from the supermarket up until now, so Jun just wandered aimlessly down the aisles happy to browse around until he found Ohno’s eyedrops.

Jun walked past the aisle with the two men in gray suits and completely oblivious to them, walked towards the pet food aisle. His presence did not go unnoticed for the man with the round head and wide forehead immediately perked up and nudged his coworker in the side.

“Oi,” he whispered. “Sakurai! Psst!”

“What?” Sho turned around holding a bag of chips that he was considering buying.

“A real babe just walked by!”

“Ariyoshi-san, come on—” Sho rolled his eyes. His fellow coworker at the local newspaper Ariyoshi Hiroiki was notorious for being a skirt-chasing womanizer and was always on the lookout for his next Mrs. Ariyoshi. It never bothered the man that he never found much luck in the love department. He was great at picking up women but never very good at maintaining the relationship. Sho always thought the man loved the chase more than the relationship, but hardly dared to say so to his quick-witted senpai.

“No, this one is really hot!” Ariyoshi whispered, pointing down the aisle. “Look!”

Sho peered down the aisle and saw Ohno Junka, who by all accounts was a fair-skinned woman with long dark hair tied with a satin light blue ribbon who looked to be in her late 20s, possibly early 30s. She was wearing a thin white quarter sleeve blouse open at the second button with a silk scarf over her neck that matched her ribbon and a dark blue mini skirt that folded over her waist and fastened with two mother of pearl buttons over the three pleats. She had a straw hat that had a black accent ribbon to shield her face from the morning sun and carried a simple black shoulder bag.

“What a babe, right? Look at those pale legs in those blue heels,” Ariyoshi sighed. “Tell me she’s not attractive.”

“She looks nice,” Sho shrugged. They continued to watch Jun approach the medicine area.

“Let’s go get a better look!” Ariyoshi urged.

Sho groaned and put the chips back on the shelf, following after his senpai. Ariyoshi was smooth. He pretended like he was looking for something similar in the same aisle. Jun had taken the bottle out and was comparing the bottle to the items on the shelf.

“Do you need help finding something?” A friendly young male employee approached Jun.

“I’m looking for this particular type of eyedrops. Do you happen to have it?” Jun smiled shyly.

“Let me take a look.” Jun handed him the eyedrops and he scanned the shelves quickly. “I’m so sorry, we seem to be out of this particular brand.”

“Oh no…” sighed Jun disappointedly. “Do you know where I might find them? I need to purchase them today.”

“Sure, let me check our inventory,” the store employee smiled, pulling a small handheld device from his pocket and scanning the eyedrops bottle before handing it back to Jun. The scanner beeped and he turned back to Jun. “We have another location down by the Umedani Shoutengai. They’re a much larger store and they show 10 in stock.”

“I’m sorry, where is the Ume…Shoutengai?” Jun asked.

“Umedani Shoutengai is the shopping district near the fire station,” the employee pointed Jun towards the exit of the store. “If you go out of the store, you’re going to turn right and walk about 6 blocks down. Cross the bridge and you will see that the road forks into 4 roads. Take the one on the left and it will take you to the Umedani Shoutengai. It’s about 10 minutes away.”

“Thank you for your help,” Jun bowed graciously and walked out of the store.

Ariyoshi looked rather disappointed to see the beauty walk out of the store, but when he saw that she stopped just outside and was looking lost, he grabbed Sho and cocked his head to signal that they were leaving.

“Hello! Yoo-hoo!” Ariyoshi waved, jogging out and smiling gregariously at Jun. “Hello, I couldn’t help but notice that you seem lost.”

“Ahh, I’m fine,” Jun bowed, looking around for an escape route.

“My coworker and I were actually on our way to the Umedani Shoutengai,” explained Ariyoshi. “And you look like you still might not know where to go. If you’d like we’d be happy to escort you there. We’re not strange people, I promise! Here!” Ariyoshi took out his business card holder and handed a business card to Jun. “My name is Ariyoshi Hiroiki and this is my kouhai, Sakurai Sho. Oi, give her your business card.”

Sho sighed and reached for his business card holder in his jacket pocket. “I’m terribly sorry, ma’am. I am Sakurai Sho. Please do not feel like you need to give out any information about yourself or feel like you need to go with us. We are really heading to the Umedani Shoutengai since we have an appointment there, but I understand that it’s totally weird for complete strangers like us to approach you—”

“Thank you, I’d love to walk there with you,” Jun smiled, accepting the business cards with the grace of an idol and placing them into a case in his purse with the point card from the supermarket. “You both are so kind, Ariyoshi-san and Sakurai-san. My name is Ayaka, no kanji, just hiragana.”

“Nice to meet you, Ayaka-san,” Ariyoshi smiled back, happy to be in the company of a beautiful woman.

Sho sighed and followed up the rear as they strolled together towards the shopping area, cringing as the poor woman had to laugh at all of Ariyoshi’s silly jokes and stories. Sho could see that this Ayaka woman was indeed quite beautiful, charming, and if Ariyoshi had not already noticed it to the man’s detriment, also married. She was well-dressed and put together and Sho wondered who she might be married to given her looks. Her ring looked to be expensive, but her ring was her only status accessory. Her purse and shoes were not designer, but she looked like she put quite a bit of time into her makeup, hair, and overall appearance.

“Well, we’re here!” Ariyoshi announced, gesturing grandly to the drugstore. “Our appointment is just around the corner there, so we were traveling in the same direction. Such a pleasure to have such beautiful company today!”

“Oh, thank you, Ariyoshi-san!” Jun gushed. “You have been so kind to escort me here. I just don’t know what I would have done if you and Sakurai-san had not been here to escort me.”

“No problem,” Ariyoshi blushed.

“And thank you, Sakurai-san,” Jun smiled radiantly. “I’m sorry Ariyoshi-san also volunteered you to take me here, but I really appreciate it.”

“You’re very welcome, Ayaka-san,” Sho replied cordially. “Ariyoshi-san. I’m going to stop by the post office and mail the documents to the Osaka office. Shall I meet you upstairs at the client’s office for the meeting?”

“Oh yeah, that sounds good,” Ariyoshi waved. “See you around Ayaka-san.”

“Take care, Ariyoshi-san, Sakurai-san,” Jun waved and made his way into the store.

Once he was inside, he let out a sigh of relief. The two men seemed nice enough but Jun felt nervous fully strapped up in his get up. The Umedani Shoutengai store shared a similar layout, so Jun quickly went to the medicine aisle and just as the employee at the other store had said, there were 10 of Ohno’s eyedrops in stock. Jun grabbed three from the shelf and took it to the counter.

“That will be 4,860 yen,” the girl at the register read. “Will you be needing a bag today?”

“No, that’s alright, I’ll put them in my purse. Wow, these eyedrops are expensive,” Jun muttered as he handed the girl a 5,000 yen note. “For my husband,” Jun offered with a smile.

“Here is your change, 140 yen. Please confirm that it is correct,” she replied politely. “Today the Umedani Shoutengai is having a special lottery. For every 2,500 yen you spend you get one play. The redemption table is in front of the Mos Burger. Please feel free to spin the wheel as you may win a prize.”

“Thank you,” Jun bowed and placed the three boxes of eyedrops into his purse.

Jun took a quick stroll around the shopping area and decided that he might return another day to browse. He rather liked the old-style feel of the mom and pop shops mixed in with some of the more modern stores like the Yodobashi Camera and game arcades. Stopping at the lottery table, he could see some of the housewives already lining up and receiving things like soap, boxes of rice, coupons from merchants, and bags of produce. When he got closer to the front of the line, he could see that there were other useful things that housewives might find attractive like toilet paper, shoyu, mirin, and even cleaning products that people could choose depending on what color ball toppled out of the hexagonal-shaped wooden lottery wheel.

“Welcome, ma’am,” smiled the middle aged graying man wearing a green apron running the table. “How many today?”

“I have one,” Jun handed him the ticket nervously.

“Thank you. Go ahead and give that wheel a big spin. You might win something good,” he winked at Jun.

Jun nodded and reached for the crank. He gave it a slow spin causing the plastic balls to rattle about as people chatted merrily in line. What came out into the silver catch tray was a single golden ball.

“Hmm?” The prize table man looked down through his thick glasses.

“Tenchou! We have a grand prize winner!” shouted the young woman wearing the same apron. “The golden ball has appeared! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a grand prize winner!”

Suddenly the two prize table employees were ringing the bells to signal to the entire shoutengai that the grand prize had been won, resulting in cheers and clapping as people rushed to see who had won.

“Congratulations, ma’am!” the prize table manager exclaimed excitedly to Jun. “You’re the grand prize winner of the Umedani Shoutengai End of Summer Campaign, where all of the merchants come together to offer one lucky winner an all expense paid onsen trip for 3 days and 2 nights to a ryokan of your choice in the Kusatsu Onsen Town!” The prize table girl handed her boss an envelope to hand to Jun and another employee began to take a few photos of the joyous moment. “Now, if you’ll just come this way and fill out the paperwork…”

Sho was finishing up with the final greetings when Ariyoshi came down to see the commotion that had gathered in the middle of the shoutengai. “Hey, Hinata-chan,” Ariyoshi waved to the young girl who worked at the eyeglasses booth nearby. “What’s going on?”

“Ariyoshi-san, so nice to see you!” she smiled. “A woman just won the grand prize!”

“Really? Who?” Ariyoshi asked, craning his neck to see if he could get a better look.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Someone I’ve never seen before,” shrugged Hinata. “I hardly see you any more. How come you don’t stop by here as often?”

“My schedule changed,” Ariyoshi replied vaguely. “Hey, did you see what she looked like?”

“It was a young woman wearing a navy blue skirt and a white top—”

“Super pretty with a straw hat and lots of makeup?” Ariyoshi asked excitedly.

“I don’t know about pretty, but she was wearing a straw hat and had long black hair—”

“It’s Ayaka-san!” Ariyoshi exclaimed, running towards the prize table.

“Ayaka-san? Who the hell is Ayaka-san?” Hinata trailed off as Ariyoshi ran off.

By the time that Ariyoshi arrived at the prize table, the line had quieted and people were still playing to win the smaller prizes of the promotional lottery. He saw his friend, the prize table manager, and waved to him.

“Kotetsu! I heard someone just won the grand prize!” Ariyoshi panted excitedly.

“Yeah, you just missed her, Hiro-chan. I think she was probably your type,” he laughed.

“Long black hair and pretty brown eyes and pale skin?!”

“That’s her,” he confirmed.

“That must be Ayaka-san!”

“Oh, you know her?” Kotetsu stepped back in surprise.

“Not really, we just met today. But isn’t she quite the looker?! Any way I can write this up in the local newspaper and advertise the shoutengai and your store as the primary sponsor,” winked Ariyoshi.

“Ahh, you just want me to give you the photo we took,” Kotetsu squinted at Ariyoshi suspiciously.

“That too! But I always write up the grand prize winner,” Ariyoshi reminded him. “And we run a generous half page add of the shoutengai and your store featured in the middle of that photo.”

“That you do,” acknowledged Kotetsu. “Okay, fine. I’ll send you the pictures later tonight. But she’s married, you know.”

“What?!” whined Ariyoshi, plastering his face with the heel of his palm.

“Yeah. I saw the ring on her finger—”

“My dream woman of just a few hours,” moaned Ariyoshi.

“There will be others, my friend,” Kotetsu patted Ariyoshi’s back to console him.

“Not ones like Ayaka-san who laughed at all my jokes!”

“Wow, she is something. You ain’t even funny, man, and she still laughed at your jokes?”

“Yeah…,” sighed Ariyoshi. “I’ll never meet anyone like her….Well, gimme her last name so I can at least report it right…”

Kotetsu picked up the form he had Jun sign. “Says here her last name is Ohno.”

“Ohno,” Ariyoshi took out a notepad from his pocket. “Ohno Ayaka.”

“Yeah, that's right,” confirmed Kotetsu, looking up from the form.

“Alright, Sakurai is probably looking for me. I better head back. Hey, thanks man,” Ariyoshi held his hand out and Kotetsu acknowledged it with a powerful shake. “I’ll see you around.”

Ariyoshi could feel his pocket vibrating and took out his phone.

_“Where are you, Ariyoshi-san?!”_ Sho demanded in an anxious voice.

_“I’m coming. Just saying hello to some friends.”_

_“The boss just called us back to the office. We gotta take a taxi back.”_

_“Alright, I’ll meet you at the entrance, by Masako Mama’s bar.”_

+

Ohno returned home later than evening to find Jun taking a nap in the bedroom. This was rather unusual behavior as normally Jun was up and about during the day and greeted him with a smile when he returned home. Concerned that Jun might be ill, Ohno walked over to Jun’s side of the bed and placed his hand on Jun’s forehead. Jun seemed a little warm, but it was a hot and humid day and Jun did not have the door open so it was possible that he was just warm from the room. Ohno opened the sliding door quietly and turned on the fan to get some circulation into the room before taking a bath.

When he came back out and even with the noises that Ohno was making when he got dressed, Jun was still sleeping. Frowning, Ohno hung his towel up and sat down on the bed next to Jun, his weight causing Jun to roll into him.

“Jun,” he called, lightly shaking Jun’s shoulder. No response. Ohno shook Jun a little harder and raised his voice a little more. “Jun? Jun, wake up. Are you okay?” Fearing the worst, Ohno brought his face closer to Jun’s nose and mouth. He could feel Jun was breathing but was puzzled that Jun seemed unresponsive. Ohno took a deep breath and gave Jun a much harder shake and called out to him. “Jun! JUN! WAKE UP!”

Miraculously, Jun finally stirred and sat up groggily, blinking as he tried to focus his eyes.

“Jun? Are you okay?” Ohno asked.

“Satoshi, you’re home,” Jun smiled goofily. “And you showered…what time is it?”

“Jun, are you okay?” Ohno repeated, touching Jun’s forehead and waving his hand in front of the man’s face. “You weren’t waking up when I was calling you.”

“I’m sorry, Satoshi,” Jun smiled, wrapping his arms around Ohno’s torso in apology. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have any numbness, your heart’s not racing…?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. I suddenly felt really tired when I came home, so I came to the bedroom to lie down…” Jun looked around the room and appeared to be gathering his bearings. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t think I’ve started dinner yet—”

“Stay, I’ll get it,” Ohno said.

“No, I’m fine,” Jun stood up, but wobbled about.

“No, you’re clearly not fine. Why don’t you change into something more comfortable and I’ll cook us something?” Ohno smiled and brushed Jun’s hair away from his face.

“Okay,” Jun agreed weakly. Ohno went to the kitchen and Jun went to change out of his day clothes and switched to more comfortable undergarments and his pajamas. Switching into less restrictive clothing made him feel a little better, so he joined Ohno in the kitchen.

“Sit down and have some of this apple juice,” Ohno handed him a glass. “I’m going to make us some fried rice with the leftovers in the refrigerator.”

“I’m sorry, Satoshi,” Jun took a sip as a tear slid down his cheek.

“What do you have to be sorry for?” Ohno laughed, chopping up the vegetables and leftover pork as he sautéed a chopped onion.

“I’m sorry for making you worry and for not having dinner ready,” Jun sniffled, dabbing at his eye area to prevent his makeup from running. “I must have forgotten to eat or hydrate today or something…I don’t know what happened. I’m normally not this careless with my health—”

Ohno placed his lips over Jun’s to quiet his anxiety. “Hey, it’s okay,” he told Jun gently. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He kissed Jun on the forehead and returned to work on his fried rice in silence which just made Jun feel worse as he watched as Ohno now had to do his one important duty for him. Jun stared into his empty juice cup despondently. In a few minutes, however, Ohno brought a large serving bowl, two spoons, and smile to the dining table and sat down next to Jun.

“What’s this?” Jun asked staring the fried rice covered in some sort of translucent thick soup.

“Vegetable _ankake_ fried rice made from your leftovers!” Ohno declared proudly. “The original food is good because you made it. And I just mixed it around with some rice and made _ankake_ sauce so there’s no way it’s not going to be delicious! Let’s eat! _Itadakima~su_!”

“It’s not even portioned out,” Jun pointed out with a chuckle. “Are we supposed to eat it from the same serving dish?”

“Why not?” laughed Ohno. “We share _everything_ _else_ and you’ve never complained. Sharing food from one platter—don’t you find it a little romantic?”

Jun blushed red as he blew on a bite of Ohno’s concoction hesitantly to cool it before placing it into his mouth.

“How is it?” Ohno wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s good, right?”

Jun chewed thoughtfully and gave a small smile back. “Yeah, it’s surprisingly delicious.”

“Nice!” Ohno fist pumped triumphantly. “You know what this needs though, is a little bit of white pepper.” Ohno stood up and walked over to the counter to grab the white pepper from its home next to the other condiments. “Hey, what’s this?” Ohno asked, bringing an envelope with a red and white celebratory design to the table with the pepper shaker.

“Oh, I completely forgot,” Jun took the envelope and opened it up. “I had to go to the drugstore in Umedani Shoutengai today and they were having a campaign. I got a ticket to play the _garapon_ lottery and I got the grand prize.”

“Ooh! What did you get? A coupon for fancy meat or something?” Ohno asked excitedly seasoning his side of the _ankake_ fried rice.

“No, it’s an all expenses paid onsen trip for 3 days and 2 nights for two,” Jun handed the voucher over to Ohno.

“Onsen trip?” Ohno took the voucher and read the fine print in the back while he continued to eat.

“Um, would you like to go together?” Jun asked, slowly eating his food so as not to burn his sensitive tongue. Ohno was still silent, which made Jun nervous that perhaps his husband did not like hot springs.

“I love hot springs! This is amazing!” Ohno leaned over and kissed Jun on the lips. “Let me get an extra day off and we can go sometime after the company beach weekend.”

“Yeah?” Jun began to smile.

“Oh, definitely,” Ohno nodded. “And I can’t wait to see you dolled up in your little yukata…” Ohno winked and Jun chewed on his lower lip, his cheeks rising with a giddy smile. “I’ll ask the boss tomorrow and I’ll call you from work so you can book it.”

“Okay, I can do that. Your expensive AF eyedrops, by the way, are in my purse,” Jun added. “Satoshi, I can’t believe those things are 1,620 yen a bottle with the tax!”

“How many did you buy?”

“Three, so it was almost 5,000 yen.”

“But you got an onsen trip in return,” pointed out Ohno. “So it was worth it.”

“I guess,” Jun smiled. “You and your dry eyes.”

“Why do you think they’re always so dry?” Ohno asked dead serious.

“I dunno, because it’s hot out on the boat and the salt bothers your eyes?” Jun shrugged, standing up after feeling much better having eaten to fetch some drinks from the refrigerator. “You want a beer?”

“Bu-bu. Wrong. Yeah, I’ll take one.”

“Why then?” Jun brought himself a large glass of green tea and opened a bottle of beer for Ohno.

“Because I never want to close them because I’m always looking at you,” Ohno smiled.

Jun blushed and nearly spilled the beer he was pouring, his eyelids fluttering as he processed Ohno’s compliment. “Satoshi,” Jun nudged him playfully and set the beer in front of Ohno. “You don’t have to be so sappy…”

“Why not? I like seeing you squirm a little. It’s cute. You’re cute,” laughed Ohno, grabbing Jun by the waist and sitting his wife onto his lap. Despite what Jun said, Ohno knew that Jun loved the attention and compliments and he was all too happy to shower the love of his life with them.

+

_At the local newspaper later that evening…_

“Ariyoshi-san, is this ready to go?” the editor asked, pointing to the proof.

“Yup! ‘ _Winner of Umedani Shoutengai Summer Campaign Hot Springs Trip Grand Prize: Ohno Ayaka_ (梅谷商店街夏キャンペーン温泉旅行当選：大野あやか) _!_ ’” Ariyoshi read.

“Where did you get this photo? I thought you and Sakurai were in a meeting?”

“I know the guy running the prize table. I made sure to give him credit,” Ariyoshi reminded him defensively.

“No, I saw that. I was just wondering who he was and how you got the photo without requisitioning funds,” the editor clarified, puffing on a cigarette. “She certainly is quite photogenic, this Ohno Ayaka.”

“I know, right? This profile of her as she accepts the prize from my friend is just beautiful. Too bad she’s married. Lucky guy,” grumbled Ariyoshi. “That prize was for an onsen trip for two…if only that could have been me….!”

“Ariyoshi, go home already!” The editor shook his head and returned to his desk.

+

_To be continued…!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! What an emotional ride this chapter! We have some NinoAi/Soubusen trauma and action, Jun committing to some high level cross-dressing, Ariyoshi-Sakurai abunai duo--do they spell danger and disaster for Juntoshi? 
> 
> **Next up:** Company beach weekend!👙🏖 . Can Jun pull it off or will he be exposed in front of Macchi Fishing Co. (I'm just picturing that scene in the Lucky Seven SP where Eita and Jun are pretending to be 'locked out' of the hotel room)? Stay tuned!
> 
> Happy early Thanksgiving, friends! Thank you, Leader and Arashi, for making us "smile (over and over) again"! And Happy early Birthday to our wonderful Arashi Leader! Just a side note about Ohno--I don't know what the hell I was looking up (no doubt going down another ridiculous Arashi rabbit hole), but I came to this image search of stills of Ohno on Shiyagare and VSA and that guy has the most random but hilarious words under his face. They're not subtitles, it's those words that they put on post-production for emphasis. There's something about Ohno Satoshi's unapologetic face in these stills (no context so I don't know if he's saying it or it's being said to/about him) that just makes me laugh: "ANEMIC" "HATE STUDYING" "I'M DRUNK" "OHNO'S BEEN REVIVED" "CARROT" "I'M THE SEMPAI HERE" "NO F'ING WAY" "I'M COLLECTING BOTTLE CAPS" "NO MOTIVATION" "PISSED OFF" "CAN I JUST NOT DO IT?" "HUH!?" "TODAY MATSUMOTO'S UNDERWEAR IS RED". Anyway, endless supply of laughs and memes from Arashi. Happy early Birthday, Leader!


	11. True Feelings vs. Public Persona (本音と建前 )

Sho was on his way to the office when he received a call on his cellphone.

_Ninomiya Kazunari_

While he knew that the agent had been spending some time at the house, it was odd for the man to call, especially so early in the morning.

_“Hello?”_ Sho answered, waving to the security guard outside the building.

_“What the hell are you guys printing?!”_ shouted Nino over the phone.

_“I’m sorry, what are we talking about?”_

_“That article you printed about Ohno Satoshi’s wife winning the shoutengai lottery!”_ screeched Nino angrily. _“Your partner Ariyoshi wrote it up and it even has a photo of her in the newspaper!”_

Sho arrived at his desk and logged into his computer to check the proofs that had been run. He did a quick search of Ariyoshi’s name in the author search and sure enough on the local news section there was Ariyoshi’s story on page D2.

_“I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me that this story was running!”_ Nino shouted.

_“Hold on, Nino! I didn’t even know that Ariyoshi-san was writing this up!”_ Sho shouted back defensively. _“I submit my stories and I don’t check every single article that comes through the newspaper!”_ Sho scrolled through the article and looked at the photo more carefully. _“Also, I’ve never met Ohno-san’s wife, so how the hell was I supposed to know that this was her?!”_

_“You mean to tell me that you’ve never seen this woman before even though she is your neighbor?”_ Nino sneered derisively in disbelief.

_“No, I haven’t—not up until two days ago when I just happened to run into her! Ariyoshi-san and I were at the drugstore near the house shopping when we ran into her by coincidence. She was looking for some eyedrops and they didn’t have the ones she was looking for. The store employee told her to check the Umedani Shoutengai store and Ariyoshi-san volunteered us to escort her there. We took her there, I went to the post office and then went to our meeting. When I finished, there was some commotion around the lottery table, but the boss called me back to the office so I had no idea that the woman who won the lottery was Ohno-san’s wife.”_

_“I see…”_ Nino sighed loudly as he rubbed his temples at the onset of the headache that was approaching.

_“Besides, I thought Masaki said her name was ‘Ohno Junka’. The woman who I met at the drugstore said her name was Ayaka and that’s what Ariyoshi-san printed.”_

Nino looked more carefully at the article and to his surprise, it did say that Ohno Ayaka was the winner.

_“Nino? Isn’t Ohno-san’s wife’s name Junka?”_ Sho prompted when Nino had left him in silence.

_“Yes, her name is Junka, but it looks like ‘Ayaka’ when you write it,”_ Nino acknowledged. _“Look, just keep this between the two of us. Ohno Junka is the one living in this town for a reason, a reason you should be plenty familiar with. I really need to keep her safe because there’s a DOA bounty on her right now.”_

_“Oh, shit, man….I’m sorry,”_ Sho apologized. _“Do you want me to tell Ariyoshi-san?”_

_“No! Tell no one,”_ Nino hissed. _“Strictly need to know only. I need you to print a B.O.L.O. on the next edition.”_

_“Will do. I’ll get the approval this morning and we’ll run it on this evening’s edition. How do you write her name?”_

_“‘Aya’ is the thread radical ‘ito-hen’ and ‘shun’. ‘Ka’ is ‘summer’.”_

_“So ‘ken_ (絢) _’ like ‘kenran_ (絢爛) _’ and ‘natsu_ (夏) _’. Ohno Ayaka_ (大野絢夏). _”_ Sho wrote down the characters on a sticky note.

_“Correct.”_

_“I’ll work on it right away. Nino?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“I’m sorry. Ariyoshi-san and I didn’t know…if we had known—”_

_“Yeah, I know. Thanks.”_

Sho hung up the phone and immediately started to type up the notice for approval. Just like the ad he had run about the lost cat in Kinsei-machi, the local newspaper that was distributed to the region not only wrote up the news, but there were also hidden messages for the residents of the area who were in the know. Sho knew that Nino often relied on people associated with night life, former or current hosts of persons in witness protection, and pillars of the community like the chief editor of the newspaper to support this effort.

The message that Sho would be printing was a message asking residents to Be On the Look Out for suspicious people asking about a particular person. He would use the names of actual neighborhoods that contained the characters of Ohno Junka to tell those in the know to be on the look out for anyone suspicious who may be asking around about “Ohno Junka” or “Ohno Ayaka”.

—

**Neighborhood Watch — Be On the Look-Out**

  * There have been a recent string of burglaries in the following neighborhoods: 
    * 大天満柱 Daitenman-bashira
    * 野球記念館前 Yakyuu Kinenkan-mae
    * （北東）絢路街 Northeast Ayajimachi
    * 夏屋河３丁目と５丁目 Natsuyagawa 3-chome and 5-chome
  * Please take precautions to lock your doors and report any suspicious persons or activity to your local law enforcement.



—

“What do you think, Murao-san?” Sho asked the editor.

“Ohno Ayaka…wasn’t that the woman who just won the onsen trip from Umedani Shoutengai that Ariyoshi wrote up?” The narrow-faced man asked thoughtfully scratching his chin.

“As luck would have it, yes,” Sho confirmed.

“Alright, run it,” Murao nodded stamping his seal onto Sho’s requisition form. “Let’s hope we don’t have another disaster like eight years ago,” he sighed, shaking his head at the tragedy that hit the town eight years prior when a witness was killed because people were too slow to communicate to the police that there were some suspicious people in town asking around for her.

“Thank you, sir,” Sho bowed and retrieved the paper from his boss.

“Sakurai?”

“Sir?”

“Shouldn’t you tell Ariyoshi-san about this?” Murao asked as Sho was about to leave. “This is the woman he couldn’t stop talking about. If he gets wind of that Ohno Junka is a person of interest, he is going to be relentless trying to figure her out and why she is here.”

Sho winced and gave a helpless smile.

“Sworn to silence by Ninomiya, huh?” guessed Murao.

Sho nodded a bow to take his leave.

“He could jeopardize her safety if he figures out the code,” called Murao.

“Yeah, I know.”

+

_At the Airport Bus Terminal — Kagoshima Prefecture…_

Ohno and Jun were sitting at the bus depot having arrived intentionally one flight earlier than everyone so that Ohno did not have to deal with riding the plane with his crew. Ohno was reading an art supplies catalog while Jun was reading his novel when the crew poured out with their women and excitedly began calling out to the couple.

“Oi! Ohno! Ooooooiiiii!!” “Junka-saa~n!”

Jun looked up and smiled warmly from under his large straw wide-brimmed hat, standing up to greet the fishing crew, who immediately rushed over to greet Jun once they saw Ohno’s stunning wife in her breezy sky blue off-shoulder mini dress and strappy tan sandals.

“Junka-saaaan! You look very nice today!” gushed the crew.

“How are you all doing? Did you find the plane ride to be okay?” Jun smiled sweetly with his feminine charm shining brightly through the full face of makeup he had on.

“YES! WE DID!” Ohno’s crew cheered. “Junka-san, you smell nice! You smell like apples!”

“Junka-san, come, I’ll introduce you to all the wives and girlfriends,” Higashiyama held his hand out and guided Jun away.

“Can I go, Satoshi?” Jun asked, placing his hand on Ohno’s shoulder.

Ohno looked up in surprise seeing the entire crew had suddenly appeared and Jun looking down asking him for permission. “Go where?”

“To meet the other wives and girlfriends with Higashiyama-san,” Jun repeated patiently.

“Oh, sure,” Ohno agreed.

“Oi, Ohno!” Nakai sat down next to Ohno as they watched Jun being led away.

“Yeah,” Ohno sighed now that his quiet time had been disturbed.

“Junka-san looks good today,” Nakai commented.

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” Ohno slowly put his magazine away as he watched the other ladies gathering around Jun.

“Why do you keep staring at your wife?” Nakai asked, lighting a cigarette and offering one to Ohno who accepted one.

“It’s her first time being around so many unfamiliar people, so I worry for her,” Ohno took a puff of the cigarette that Nakai lit for him. Being a social smoker, Ohno never really purchased cigarettes, but would occasionally have one if offered. “She’s shy.”

They looked on and saw Jun actively engaging with the other women and laughing along.

“I dunno, she looks pretty comfortable to me,” Nakai puffed with a drawl.

“Captain, the bus should be arriving in 10 minutes,” bowed Takagi, handing Nakai the clipboard with the agenda.

“Alright,” Nakai chewed on his cigarette and began taking attendance. “Go tell everyone to wait by the #3 bus stop sign with their stuff.”

“Will do!” Takagi rushed off to gather the party.

“Isn’t it great that we were able to come to Kagoshima instead at the last minute?” Higashiyama reached for his bag next to Ohno. “I mean, with that typhoon hitting Okinawa today, I thought we were gonna have to cancel for sure, but it sure was nice for the boss’ friend to let us picnic in Kagoshima and then take the boat back from there.

“Yeah,” Ohno replied wearily as he grabbed his and Jun’s bags and shuffled over to the bus stop.

When the bus arrived, the women entered first, bringing Jun with them and leaving Ohno to sit next to Higashiyama for the ride. It was a 45-minute drive to the beach they would be picnicking at and Ohno was hoping to sit next to Jun, but unfortunately he was with his crew members who wanted nothing more than to tell ridiculous stories and jokes while playing cards and drinking beer.

Upon arrival at the beach, an event service truck was already waiting for them with their supplies and beach day rental goods for the day that included the grills, tents, charcoal, food, drinks, and towels. Nakai and Takagi gave everyone their assignments which ranged from tent set-up, food preparation, grill, and other prep. Ohno was assigned to tent set-up with some of the younger members of the crew and Jun along with the other women were on food preparation. Once the crew was done setting up the tents and grills, the women assigned Jun to beverage service which involved manning the table with the alcohol and other drinks and drinking snack items.

From what Jun was able to determine, it was a less desirable post as it was a bit isolated from the other women, it involved handling and serving alcohol and drinking snacks to the men while the food cooked and they socialized, and there was quite a bit of heavy lifting. Once they had explained his post, the other women focused on the other aspects of food preparation, which left Jun to organize and plan how he would manage his first social task with Ohno’s coworkers. He closed his eyes and tried to recall all the instances he had been on outings of mixed company and what the men liked to see from the fairer sex. Based on a few minutes of analysis, Jun decided to bring the beer to the men on a large tray he had found along with some of the individually packed snacks to start them out. Fixing his clothes and hair and putting on his widest smile, he made his way to the first group of men nervously.

“H-Hi, would you like something to drink?” Jun smiled, holding out the tray.

“Junka-san!” the men cheered.

“Who would like a beer?” Jun offered.

“ME! ME! ME!” they shouted excitedly, rushing forward to receive the ice cold cans of beer and rice crackers snacks that Jun was handing out with the most radiant of smiles as if he were a flight attendant.

“I have more drinking snacks back at my booth if you’re interested,” Jun smiled as he brushed a stray tendril away from his face and picked up the tray that had two more cans. “I’ll be hanging out there once I get everyone some refreshments.”

“We’ll be by to visit you!” they cheered, waving to Jun who waved back as the breeze blew the hem of his dress up slightly causing the men to sigh forlornly as if Jun was the only happiness in their lives.

Jun made three more rounds to groups of crew members before coming upon the group of men that included his husband.

“Nakai-san, would you like something to drink?” Jun smiled sweetly as he offered the captain a beer.

“Oh, Junka-san, you’re so kind,” blushed Nakai, accepting the beer from Jun.

“I’ll have one too,” Higashiyama piped up. “You look pretty today, Junka-san. Go give your man one of these too; he’s just sulking because he couldn’t sit next to you on the ride over,” he winked.

“Thank you, Higashiyama-san,” Jun blushed and looked away in embarrassment and then saw Ohno reading his magazine disinterestedly sitting to the side. Once the others had been taken care of, Jun brought a beer to Ohno and held it in front of the his face. When he did not receive a response, he bent down to try a slightly different tactic.

“Satoshi, would you like a beer?” Jun smiled, getting Ohno’s attention by placing his free hand on Ohno’s thigh.

“Jun…” Ohno looked up and saw Jun’s angelic smile, sparkling brown eyes, and long eyelashes fluttering at him and he melted.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jun smiled, handing him the beverage with a kiss on the cheek. “I’m at the beverage booth in case you want to visit me later and—” Ohno suddenly kissed Jun on the lips much to the surprise of others around him. It was rare to see a tender side to the cantankerous Ohno, but clearly he had no qualms about showing Jun some affection in public. Jun took a step back in surprise, blinking rapidly as if Ohno had zapped him with a bolt of electricity.

“You look nice today,” Ohno mumbled and took his beer from Jun and sat down.

Ohno’s crew began to hoot and whistle obnoxiously from behind Jun as they gathered around him. “Ohno loves you, Junka-san! Woot!”

“Please, stop it, guys,” Jun blushed, picking up the tray with the leftover snacks and beers.

“Awwww, you’re so cute, Junka-san!” cheered the crew as Jun waved and scurried back to his beverage stand where some of the other men had wandered back hoping to see the most attractive of the ladies manning the booth.

“Junka-san!” Three pairs of eyes lit up as Jun approached the booth.

“So sorry to keep you all waiting,” Jun smiled. “What can I get for you?”

Jun kept the three men entertained as he kept the alcohol and snacks coming. He chatted with them about their love lives, their hobbies, their life stories, and as a result, he was getting to know the men quite well. Jun had done some bartending before and had experience in the food service industry, so he was well-equipped to talk about virtually anything that the men brought up. And soon others began to flock around Jun’s beverage station. Not all of them worked on Ohno’s boat regularly, but it was nice to see that the people of Macchi Fishing Co. were a solid group of kind, tight-knit fisherman that relied on each other and shared their lives together as their own mini community of sorts.

“Junka-san, you should have your own bar,” laughed Matsuoka, helping himself to some dried cuttlefish with a miniature set of tongs. “I’d definitely go after work if you were the Mama there.”

“Me too!” “Me three!” A few of the younger fisherman chimed in raising their hands. “We would go to Snack Junka to see you. We heard you can cook too from Higashiyama-sempai!”

“Higashiyama-san is just way too kind to me,” Jun humbly deflected the compliment. Despite not being with the other ladies who had already formed their clique, Jun was satisfied with getting to know the crew and entertaining the men.

Soon the other women became quite curious as the beverage station, which was normally a rather boring area during the picnic, had suddenly become some sort of social hub and seemed more like a popup beer garden than a table for people to help themselves to drinks. A few of them wandered over to their husbands and boyfriends to see what was so amazing. It appeared that Jun was now making mixed drinks and making his own proprietary drinking snacks with whatever had been left to him to take out as snacks.

“Junka-san, why are you so good at making drinks and preparing food?”

“Oh, I used to bartend when I was living in Tokyo…this was before I met Satoshi. And well, I’ve always liked good drinks and good food,” Jun pushed the drinks he had just finished making to the three men leaning on the table.

“Thank you, Junka-san!” they cheered in unison.

Jun stepped out from behind the table to pick up a napkin someone had dropped when one of Ohno’s crew members, an older man named Yamaguchi, did not see him and tripped over Jun spilling beer all over Jun’s dress much to the shock of everyone there.

“I’m so sorry, Junka-san!” Yamaguchi apologized. “Are you alright?! Oh, look at your clothes!”

“Yamaguchi-san, I’m fine,” Jun allowed himself to be helped up with a wave to show that he was fine. “I have a change of clothes. Don’t worry about it!”

“Oh, but it’s your dress—”

“Don’t worry,” Jun winked and grabbed his duffel bag, heading to the nearest women’s bathroom to change.

Jun prayed that no one would come as he felt awkward using the public women’s bathroom even though the stalls had doors. While it was unfortunate that he would have to change out of his dress which even he thought that he looked killer in, Jun thought that considering that he would have to start moving stuff around soon that perhaps changing into shorts might be better. Once he had changed and adjusted his body and clothes to his satisfaction, Jun took his dress to the sink and began to wash the beer out before returning to the crowd.

“I’m so sorry about your clothes, Junka-san,” bowed Yamaguchi shamefully as Jun returned from the restroom wearing a pair of white shorts and a different top, having changed out of his original outfit.

“It’s fine, Yamaguchi-san,” Jun smiled graciously, draping his wet dress over a beach chair to dry. “I needed to clean up the beverage station anyway. This outfit suits me much better for lifting things—”

“Oh, please let me help you!” Yamaguchi offered, nearly tripping over himself to help Jun with the heavy lifting.

“We can do it together,” Jun offered, placing his hand on Yamaguchi’s forearm reassuringly which just made the man redden in embarrassment. Clearly Jun was feeling slightly guilty that his womanly charms were really quite the weapon of mass destruction.

_Technically, I’m a guy too. I can carry this on my own…_ Jun thought as they moved some of the heavier items in preparation for lunch.

As the group began to transition to lunch, Ohno finally went to visit Jun. He arrived at the beverage station just as Yamaguchi was running off to help with the barbecue.

“What happened to your dress?” Ohno frowned, his eyes darting from Jun to the chair with the wet dress.

“I was careless and ran into Yamaguchi-san and got some beer on me,” Jun explained, wiping down the table with some wet wipes that smelled of camomile and lavender from his bag.

“Oh, I liked seeing you in that dress,” Ohno gave Jun a quick kiss on the cheek and a pat to his lower back. “But this outfit is nice too. Although I’m not sure I like how everyone can stare at your sexy legs…”

“You think my legs are sexy?” Jun smiled, fishing for a compliment from Ohno as he rested his arms on Ohno’s shoulders and drew him closer.

“Very,” Ohno whispered into Jun’s ear while giving Jun’s bottom a quick grope. “And your squishy butt…and tiny waist…”

“Satoshi!” Jun blushed, pushing Ohno away in flustered embarrassment.

“Lunch is ready!” called Nakai waving everyone down.

“Oh, we better go,” Ohno tugged at Jun’s hand, leading them towards the lunch area. “Come on, my love…”

Jun’s heart fluttered. Ohno Satoshi made him feel giddy like a teenage girl in love. Being in front of all of Ohno’s coworkers and their significant others made him feel nervous and self-conscious deep down, but Jun was determined to make the best of the situation. He hoped that no one suspected anything. He hoped that he was convincing enough as Ohno’s wife. What gnawed at him was how seemingly oblivious Ohno was. _Did he not care that the situation was risky? Was he not scared that he might be exposed or socially condemned if people found out that Jun was really a cross-dressing man? Was Ohno not the least bit worried?_ Jun would do anything to maintain his life with Ohno and he wanted nothing to jeopardize their happiness. When it was just the two of them, things just seemed so much simpler. Jun was beginning to regret agreeing to go on this company excursion.

“Here you go, Jun,” Ohno placed a paper plate into Jun’s hands, giving Jun a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t be shy, my love…”

This brought Jun back to the present from his irrational thoughts. Whether it was subconscious or intentional, Ohno seemed to sense Jun’s mood shift. He rubbed Jun’s back and guided him down the buffet line explaining who made what and how it would taste. Jun followed his lead and they found a nice spot under some trees to have their lunch. Their alone time would be short-lived for as soon as Higashiyama spotted them, he brought the rest of the crew towards them and it was a lively lunch while everyone stuffed themselves with barbecue and beer, yakking and joking around as was the culture of Ohno’s crew.

In the afternoon, Ohno and few of the members of his crew went spear fishing, leaving Jun at the beverage station. Jun was hardly lonely for there was a constant trickle of men who were back that the watering hole. When the sun began to set, the group cleaned up and then headed towards the dock where a luxury boat was waiting for them. Rented out just for the crew and significant others of Macchi Fishing Co., each couple or crew member had their own room for the evening. There was a pool, dance area, entertainment room with billiards, table tennis, and other games, and fully catered food and drinks available.

Ohno was rather tired after fishing, so when they boarded, he retired to the room to take a nap with Jun until dinner. After dinner, the couple returned to their rooms where they sat in comfortable silence introverting together on the couch next to each other as Jun read and Ohno sketched. Ohno began to get sleepy after a couple of hours so he washed his hands and crawled into bed to play games on his phone. Jun left for a brief moment to get some water from the entertainment room, but returned quickly to his book while Ohno continued to game.

Jun finished his book with a happy sigh and looked as though he was going to take a bath and wind down for the night as he took his duffel bag into the bathroom. Ohno thought nothing of it until he felt Jun tugging at their bedding and disturbing his quiet time.

“Let’s go swimming,” giggled Jun softly he pulled the covers away, trying to entice Ohno from bed.

“Now?! What time do you think it is?” Ohno groaned, inching away from Jun to the other side of the bed.

“Twenty minutes to midnight?” Jun replied, twirling around with the fluffy white bathrobe provided to them.

“It’s late—” Ohno protested as Jun tried to lift him from the bed.

“I have your teal bikini on,” Jun taunted invitingly, pulling the side of the bathrobe down to expose his collarbone so Ohno could see the halter top strap better. 

Ohno’s eyes grew round like saucers. “Show me,” he said gruffly.

“No, you only get to see if you’re coming to the pool,” Jun said stubbornly covering up and walking towards the door.

“What if someone sees us? Sees you without your makeup on?!”

“No one is gonna see us,” Jun assured him. “It’s so late. They’re either still in the lower deck drinking and playing in the entertainment room, or all drunk and sleeping it off in their rooms. I checked; no one is gonna see us. It’s dim and if they do, we’re just going swimming in the pool on the upper deck….Pleeeasse?” Jun reached forward and wrapped his hands around Ohno’s warm ones.

“Fine,” Ohno gave in, allowing himself to be pulled up. “Let me go change into my swim shorts…”

+

“Come, Satoshi,” Jun whispered, pulling Ohno to the pool deck which was now just dimly lit by the light blue pool lights and the night moon. Ohno was sleepy and rather reluctant to be there but he wanted to see Jun wearing a skimpy bikini.

“Are we really going swimming too?” whined Ohno.

“Maybe?” Jun kissed Ohno’s forehead and ran ahead. He stopped by the deep end of the pool and slowly undid the tie to the bathrobe.

Ohno licked his lips when Jun threw the bathrobe off revealing that Jun was wearing the slightly padded halter top. Jun had a sheer wrap around his waist slightly obscuring the bottom.

“Touch me, Satoshi,” Jun gestured with his index finger motioning to come hither.

Setting the towels down and pulling off his shirt, Ohno sauntered over to Jun. He quickly closed the gap and just as he was about to embrace Jun, his playful wife slipped away and dove into the pool.

“You gotta catch me,” giggled Jun, waving from the middle of the pool.

“Oh, you little…!” Ohno took a running start and dove in. His eyes burning from the chlorine, he quickly identified where Jun was and began to swim towards him. Jun swam away towards the shallow end of the pool once he saw Ohno coming, but Ohno was too quick. Bursting out of the surface of the water and grabbing Jun from the back, Ohno shouted triumphantly, “Got you!”

“You got me!” Jun laughed as Ohno showered his neck with kisses.

“You’re not wearing the stuff to tuck yourself,” Ohno noted in realization, as his hand brushed against the front of Jun’s pelvis.

“I’m not,” Jun turned around and teased Ohno’s lower lip with some nibbles before giving it a kiss. “What are you gonna do about it?” Jun rubbed himself into Ohno’s palm to make a point.

“You want some?” Ohno crooned as he ran his fingers up and down the protrusion in Jun’s crotch area. Jun undid the wrap around his waist and threw it on the pool deck while Ohno’s hands squeezed and fondled his thighs.

“Mmm, yesss?” Jun whimpered, reaching down to pull himself out of the bikini bottom so he could have the sensation of rubbing his pulsing member against Ohno’s rippled abs. “Put it in me…”

“Someone might come, you know?” Ohno whispered as he pulled down the bottom of the bathing suit and began to work his fingers into Jun’s hole. “Are you okay with someone seeing you like this? Dressed like this…your face twisted in pleasure like this…begging for your release?”

“Ahnn, some one _might_ , but I don’t think so—ahhnn! Oh fuck—” Jun bit down on his lip and threw his head back in response to the intrusion. Switching between sandwiching their lengths between their bodies and stroking himself along, Jun was surprisingly mischievous in the public space knowing that they might be caught, that his secret might be discovered.

“You’re so sexy, Jun. I don’t want anyone to see this face,” Ohno exhaled and lowered his jaw so Jun’s tongue could slide in to deepen their kisses. “This Jun, this Jun riding the waves of pleasure, is mine only mine to see…”

“Sato…shi…feel…so…good! Gimme…more,” Jun grunted, moving in time with Ohno’s movements.

“Then grab onto me tight,” Ohno instructed, raising Jun up and pushing his fingers deeper into Jun. Jun nodded in understanding and dug his fingers into Ohno’s back while his artistic husband’s fingers slid in and out of his back entrance. Jun placed his lips onto Ohno’s shoulder blade and bit down to prevent himself from making noise. Clenching around Ohno’s fingers and wiggling about, Jun was approaching his finish.

“No more—” Jun gasped for air and went limp as Ohno brought him to climax with just his scissoring fingers. “You always,” gasped Jun. “Make me feel so good.” Jun kissed Ohno on the lips and ran his right hand through Ohno’s hair. “Let me make you feel good too,” Jun grabbed Ohno’s erection and pumped his long soft fingers along the length while he clung onto Ohno. “So hard, I want you inside me too…” Jun stared down into the water and licked his lips as he coaxed Ohno along. “Can you put it—”

“Jun, stop, I’m gonna—” Ohno protested. “Oh fuck!” Jun’s touch was too much for Ohno and he finished prematurely in three heavy waves of orgasmic bliss.

Jun pulled up the bikini bottom and adjusted his bathing suit as they floated towards one end of the pool. They sat down on the steps that led into the shallow end of the pool and cuddled for a bit while Ohno caught his breath.

“Gimme a kiss, you little sneaky troublemaker,” Ohno puckered his lips, holding Jun’s hand. Jun leaned in and happily obliged. “You know, I wanted to take you.”

“I’m sorry,” Jun gave a half-serious apology.

“Oi,” Ohno, nudged Jun. “You don’t sound sorry at all.”

“I’m really not,” Jun winked. “Let’s go sit in the hot tub,” Jun suggested, rubbing Ohno’s chest and then doing the breaststroke with his head above water to the ladder to climb out to the area closest to the jacuzzi. 

“Go start it, I’m gonna swim a couple laps then I’ll join you,” Ohno nodded.

Jun started the bubbles in the jacuzzi and draped his long arms over the edge while he waited for Ohno to join him. He had never seen Ohno swim and found himself once again in awe of the man who had taken him. Ohno glided gracefully through the shimmering aquamarine pool, his arms cutting through the water powerfully as if he had been a swimmer all his life. When he reached the end, he tumbled forward to flip over and continued to swim doing several laps back and forth. Mesmerized by Ohno’s fantastic form, Jun sighed when he looked down at his crotch and saw he was already wanting more. When Ohno eventually joined the jacuzzi party of one, he was panting heavily and nearly out of breath.

“That was a good swim,” Ohno exhaled, sinking into the water next to Jun, who immediately leaned into Ohno and rested his head against Ohno’s.

“You really worked yourself up—where the hell did all that energy come from?” Jun snuggled into Ohno and began to massage Ohno’s biceps. “Ooh, your muscles feel really good. Soooo hot and handsome is my Satoshi,” Jun whispered at Ohno’s ear while he poked at the supple muscle. Ohno snorted, but his chest swelled with a little pride as they stared out into the open water and night sky. “Satoshi?”

“Hmmmm?” Ohno relaxed into the jets massaging his back.

“I need to touch myself,” Jun breathed, kissing Ohno’s earlobe.

“Oi, you just came!” Ohno shot a glance at Jun, whose eyes were rolling behind his eyelids as he gave a sigh of pleasure.

“I know, but you didn’t take me yet and I’m just so turned on by your body right now, Satoshi,” begged Jun. “I feel so hot and like I’m wound up tight again. Let me touch myself while I touch your muscles…Or let me ride you from on top?”

“Right here in the jacuzzi?” hissed Ohno. “We already did it in the pool.”

“Right here, right now,” Jun slid his hand down. “No one can see because of the bubbles,” Jun assured him, leaning to nibble at Ohno’s ear while he stroked himself. “Satoshi….”

Ohno’s hand reached down and put a stop to Jun’s self-gratification. Jun let out a painful whimper of protest while he bit down hard on his lower lip and sucked his breath in. If Ohno was planning to deny him his second release, Jun knew that he was going to be in a sexually frustrated foul mood as he did not think he could hold out until they returned home. He wanted and desperately _needed_ his second release if he was going to survive the second half of the social outing and he would prefer it be in the presence of his husband rather than in the shower by himself.

Fortunately, Ohno was in a mood to oblige him. “Here, let me,” Ohno offered to Jun’s relief, running his weathered fingers along the base up the underside of the shaft until it met the slit. “Shhhhh….don’t make any noise,” Ohno’s hot breath blew at his ear and tightened his grip slightly the base of Jun’s shaft. “We don’t want anyone to hear us, right?” Jun nodded dutifully in understanding as he impatiently squirmed hoping for more stimulation from Ohno.

“P-Please?” Jun begged.

“Shhhh…” Ohno kissed Jun on the cheek and cradled Jun’s balls. Jun shuddered and closed his eyes as he tried not to cry out. Ohno’s thumb teased the slit and then his fingers would pump Jun’s still sensitive member a few times. Just as Jun would feel like he was getting close to completion, Ohno would stop. It was torturous for Jun to be constantly driven to the edge and denied, so he resorted to deepening a series of wet kisses with Ohno in the hopes that the oral stimulation could help him along. “Alright already. I’ll give it to you, impatient Jun,” laughed Ohno, pulling Jun over his lap and positioning himself to enter Jun.

Jun braced himself and took a deep breath as Ohno took him from underneath. He leaned his back to Ohno’s chest, the both of them facing the ocean with Ohno’s right hand on his pulsing member.

“S-S-Sato-ssshi,” Jun hissed, with his neck craned back as Ohno’s warm tongue slid into his mouth and lapped at Jun’s own tongue. “I…I can’t…” Jun implored, choking as his breath becoming shallow and strained. Already sensitive and worked up, neither would last very much longer under Ohno’s thrusting and Jun’s tightening passage. Ohno came first with a low grunt, sending a hot load into Jun, causing his wife to throw his head back and let out a hoarse guttural gasp as if the night had stolen his voice as he came hard through the molded ring of Ohno’s fingers surrounding his length, shooting his second orgasm into the rolling bubbling of the hot tub.

When Jun stopped shaking from the climax, Ohno gave him a few tender kisses on his jawline. “Feel better?” Ohno asked, slipping out from under Jun and relinquishing the back support of sitting on the bench to Jun, who nodded gratefully. Jun panted dizzily, barely keeping his eyes open and appearing as if he were ready to pass out.

“I might need some help back to the room…” Jun panted with a satisfied grin.

They soaked for a few more minutes before Ohno turned off the bubbles and helped Jun out of the hot tub. Carrying Jun on piggy back, they walked the dim corridor back to their room when they ran into Yokoyama who was returning from the kitchen with a beer.

“Ohno,” Yokoyama waved from down the hall. “Did you go for a swim? How come you’re carrying Junka-san on your back?”

“Ah, we took a dip in the hot tub and she got a little light-headed,” Ohno explained, shrugging his shoulder at Jun to play along, so Jun gave a feeble wave but kept his head facing away from Yokoyama.

“Oh, do you want me to bring you some water or something?” Yokoyama offered.

“Nah, we’ve got some in our room, but thanks,” Ohno nodded. “Go on back to your room, I’m just taking it slow.”

“Good night, then,” Yokoyama waved.

“Good night,” Ohno nodded and walked slowly down the corridor passing Yokoyama’s room and opening their own where they took a quick shower and passed out in the bed.

+

The next morning, they were awoken by knocking to their door.

“Satoshi…can you get it?” mumbled Jun, pulling the covers over his head and elbowing Ohno.

Ohno mumbled incoherently, but swung his legs out of bed and searched around bleary-eyed for his pants. Once he was half-decent, he opened the door to see Nakai and Miyake.

“What is it?” Ohno yawned sleepily.

“How long are you planning to sleep?” Nakai laughed.

“Why are you here? What time is it?” Ohno rubbed his eyes and rolled his neck. If Nakai told him that they were doing team bonding, Ohno was going to slam the door in his face with no mercy.

“It’s 11:30 and we’re here to check on Junka-san,” Miyake explained. “Yokoyama said she wasn’t feeling well last night.”

“She’s fine. She just got light-headed from the jacuzzi,” Ohno squinted and rubbed his eyes once more.

“Good to hear. We’re gonna have lunch soon. A bunch of us caught some stuff this morning. Can you come out and help us clean the octopus and squid?” Nakai asked.

“Yeah—gimme like 15 minutes,” Ohno yawned and closed the door on the them softly.

Ohno slid back into bed and wrapped his arms around Jun.

“We gotta get up, sleepy head,” Ohno kissed Jun’s neck and shoulder.

Jun groaned and rolled over before slowly opening one eye.

“Morning, my love,” Ohno smiled, his hair falling into his face.

“Satoshi,” Jun tilted his chin up and kissed Ohno. “You were so good to me last night…”

“Don’t start. We gotta get ready. I’m gonna go help the crew get ready for lunch and you should go socialize with the ladies,” said Ohno gently.

Jun let out a sigh and rolled out of bed stretching his long limbs and back. He rubbed his middle finger along his chin and frowned. “I need to shave….”

Ohno watched Jun walk over to the bathroom naked and begin his morning routine. It was a little unusual as this was not their bedroom and normally Jun wore his pajamas even when getting ready. With things a little disrupted due to being on their first trip together, Ohno was curious and while he was putting his clothes on, he stole a glance at Jun who was standing in front of the bathroom mirror with his hair tied up washing his face and shaving like any normal naked man. Once Jun had brushed his teeth and fixed his hair, he walked into the living room to change into his clothes. Ohno went into the bathroom to wash up and get ready, Jun was fully dressed in an off-shoulder summery floral print top and jean shorts with a cream and pink scarf around his neck. The room smelled of sunscreen, cosmetics, and perfume and Ohno was rather surprised how quickly Jun had gotten ready.

“Jun, where’s my chapstick?” Ohno asked, rummaging through his duffel bag.

“It’s not on the sink or in your pocket?”

“No…”

“Oh, then I’m not sure, but I packed an extra one for you in my bag. It’s in my black pouch on the bed,” Jun called finishing his lashes with a coat of mascara and fanning his eyes with a pamphlet from the boat.

“Thank you,” Ohno held up the new chapstick and gratefully moisturized his lips to his satisfaction.

“Shall we go?” Jun asked, buckling his sandals and reaching for his hat.

“You look a little too sexy to be going out in public like that,” Ohno commented giving Jun a playful smack to the butt.

“Well, I gotta be convincing, right?” Jun gave a sexy pose and adjusted his fake bust.

“I don’t like the other guys looking at you like that, though,” Ohno held the door open for Jun as they locked up and walked out to where the rest of the crew were hanging out on the main deck.

“Don’t worry, I’m yours, remember?” Jun held up his left hand and showed Ohno the ring. “Alright?” Jun gave Ohno a light kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, alright…” mumbled Ohno.

“Junka-san! Ohno-sempai!” called two crew members carrying coolers from the kitchen.

“Good afternoon, Arioka-kun and Chinen-kun,” smiled Jun cordially.

“Junka-san, we have a bet going on,” Arioka began.

“A bet?” Jun repeated as they walked in the same general direction as the younger crew members.

“Yeah, Arioka and I have a bet going on,” Chinen explained. “First, Arioka says there was a mermaid swimming in the pool. I told him that wasn’t possible because why would a mermaid be swimming in the pool instead of the ocean. Then he said he saw a beautiful woman hardly wearing anything swimming in the pool, but when I went out there to look, I didn’t see anyone.

“What are the two of you trying to accomplish by determining who is right on this?” Ohno asked.

“That the really pretty woman I saw in the tiny bikini last night was Junka-san,” Arioka said gleefully giving Jun the once over, making Jun shift uncomfortably. “So! Junka-san, was that you outside last night around midnight taking a swim in the pool?”

+

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Friends! It's been awhile since my last update. I've been quite busy at work these last 2 months, so it's been difficult to find a good chunk of time to sit down and write. I apologize for the sporadic nature of my updates, but hope you enjoyed this sexy Juntoshi chapter. Until next time!


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